Lucky Stars and Gitahs
by ParadoxBattleZone
Summary: In her colleges days, Nanako Kuroi becomes roommates with the lead singer and guitarist of Death Devil, Sawako Yamanaka. As the days go by, what began as a rocky start turns to a strong friendship... First book of the series.
1. Their First Day

Chapter 1

It was the first day for freshman at Ryoko University. The year was 1997. For many freshman, this was completely new experience, to live away from the homes they spent their childhoods in and to live on their own. As freshman students seemed to congregate in the courtyard just outside the main dormitory's entrance, friends seemed to gather amongst themselves, expressing their feelings of nervousness to each other.

For one in particular, a blond haired freshman by the name of Nanako Kuroi, it was an experience she had wanted for quite some time. Living with her parents all throughout her childhood and high school years was finally beginning its process of wearing on her nerves. She never _hated_ her parents per say, but in the same way you hate a song that loopes for hours on end, such was her feelings toward her parents. But now, it was no longer a problem, for she was now going to live on campus.

Lugging her many duffle bags over her shoulders, Nanako pulled from the pocket of her jeans the piece of paper she had already looked at thirty six times this morning. It was a basic map of her dormitory. It showed her room, 414, was located on the fourth floor (big surprise) and, much to her _own_ surprise, it was a corner room. Corner rooms were coveted in the dorms of Ryoko U as the architects designed them with nearly double the floor space of the standard dorm. Originally intended for the use of faculty, the corner rooms were passed onto the student body after yearly attendance began a steady rise.

With a deep breath, Nanako plunged herself through the crowd of fellow freshman and entered the dormitory through the front door. Following the signs, she climbed her way up three flights of stairs and reached the fourth floor. Looking to her left, she could already see the door to her room, situated at the very end of a long hallway. As she approached, she could not help but hear the sound of aggressive heavy metal blaring from within one of the rooms. The more she continued forward, the louder it grew. When the music reached its loudest as Nanako stood before her door, the door with "414" printed on it, there was no denying that the music came from whoever was inside.

"Great," she said aloud to herself, "I can already tell me and my roommate arn't gonna get along."

She reached for the doorknob and turned, only to find it locked. She then knocked on the door three times. No answer. Nanako _banged_ on the door three times, still getting nothing in responce. Banging on the door with her fist three _more_ times, Nanako accompanied it with a "Bitch, open the door!" She knew whoever was on the other side was a woman (given that Ryoko U was an all girls university.)

With that last thrice banging, the door suddenly unlocked and flew open into the other side, sending the music screaming into the hallway. On the other side stood a woman with long, auburn hair, sporting a black leather jacket, faded blue jeans that seemed to have more cuts in it than a murder victim, heavy military boots, and a scowl. But given her frightening appearance, beneath all that, she was rather beautiful. She looked about a year older than Kuroi.

"The fuck do you want?" she blurted right into the blonde's face.

Nanako was left frozen in total shock, unable to accept that _she_ was going to be her new roommate. Just to make sure (for the thirty _seventh_ time today,) she retrieved the map of the dormitory and looked at the fourth floor. Sure enough, room 414 was circled in permanent marker, indicating that this was indeed Nanako's room and _she_ was her roommate. Looking back up, she said to the other "… I think we're roommates."

The leather jacketed one raised an eyebrow. "_You're_- damn it, what it again? - Nanako Kuroi?"

She nodded in response.

Giving a quick look-over of Nanako, the jacketed woman heaved her shoulders in a tiring manner. "Whatever, get in," she deadpanned to Nanako.

With that she stepped out of the doorway and Nanako entered. Indeed, this dorm room was huge (in comparison to the others.) The front door opened to a sort of lounge. In the center of the room was a couch that faced the wall to the left, where a television sat on a long table against said wall. Also in the center of the room was a round table with four chairs, a simple lamp hanging from the ceiling above it. Against the back wall was a row of counter space, a medium sized refrigerator, a small electric counter-top stove, and a row of cabinets built above the counters. It seemed that Nanako's roommate had already set up her own coffee brewer as well, as one of the first smells Nanako smelled upon entering (apart from cigarettes) was brewing coffee.

To the left of the table that housed the television was a door that led to the bathroom. To the right was a small closet. Against the right wall were another two doors as well. Once satisfied with her visual inspection of the room, Nanako turned her gaze back to her frightening roommate.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Nanako Kuroi," she greeted.

"WHAT?" she blurted back. The music was still blasting at near full volume.

"I said nice to meet you! I'm-"

"Shit, hold on!" she interrupted and, grabbing a lighter from off the table, she winged it at the expensive looking stereo (which was no doubt hers,) and hit the power button dead on, turning it off completely. Now the only thing Nanako could hear was a ringing in her ears.

"Alright," said that jacketed one, "what the hell did you say?"

"I said that it was nice to meet you," she replied while giving a bow. "I'm Nanako Kouri. It looks like we're going to be roommates." She put a friendly smile to her face.

The other asked bluntly "You want coffee?" without giving Nanako her name.

"Uh, sure," Kuroi replied.

With that, the jacketed woman retrieved a mug from one the cabinets, poured coffee into it, and slammed it onto the table in front of Kuroi. "Here."

She paused. "Uh, do you have any cream or sugar?" she asked.

"No."

Then, the jacketed woman reached into two pockets of her jacket, retrieving a cigarette with one hand and a lighter in the other. After lighting it and taking a long drag from it, she pointed the burning cigarette at the two doors on the wall opposite the television. "The one on the left is mine. I guess you can have the other. _Never_ go in mine, got it?"

Giving a single jerk of her head as a nod, she grabbed her bags, and entered the room. Against the right wall was the head of her, against the back wall was a dresser, a small wardrobe, and a small nightstand. Next to the bed was a skinny lamp with a light pink shade. Dropping her bags onto the floor, she began the lengthy process of unpacking he clothes and putting them away into both the dresser and wardrobe. As she did, the booming music resumed from the other room, much to Kuroi's dismay.

Once finished unpacking, she continued with setting up everything else, such as replacing her sheets and bedding and setting up a few sentimental trinkets and such atop the dresser. Once fully satisfied, Kuroi returned to the main room to find her roommate sprawled on the couch watching television. Nanako would have joined her but her roommate literally covered the entire length of the furnishing. Instead, she returned to her cup of black coffee and took a sit. It took nearly all her strength to stomach as she was use to having her coffee very sweet.

Suddenly, her roommate rose from the couch, cigarette placed between her lips. "Hey," she called from across the room. "I'm hungry. You hungry?" Kuroi nodded. "Let's get some chow."

-o0o-

The two walked off campus and decided on a burger joint now a few blocks away (in truth, the jacketed one chose for the both of them.) She ordered burger combo meal (large) and Nanako ordered a salad. The two sat at a booth near the back and, without a shred of hesitation, the jacketed woman wasted no time in lighting another cigarette. Even though there was clearly a "No Smoking" sign on the front window, the people behind the counter looked too afraid to approach her and tell her to put it out.

"So," began the jacketed one to Kuroi, "what's you beef?"

"… My _beef_?" she asked in confusion. "I ordered a _salad_."

"No, stupid, I mean what are you here for? What are you studying?"

"Oh. Well, I think I'm gonna major in some sort of history. I kind of want to teach it later on… What about you?"

"Music," she simply replied, blowing more smoke from her lips.

"Oh… You like music? Do you play?"

"I'm in a band, 'Death Devil.'" Her tone was a mix between uninteresting and dismissive.

"Really?" asked Nanako with interest (not so much with the name). "Are you any good?"

Nanako could literally hear the other's temper snap. "The hell is _that_ suppose to mean?" she growled back.

"Oh, no no," she quickly defended, "I didn't mean to say that you were bad! I meant to ask if you ever performed anywhere!"

"Yeah, a few underground competitions," she answered. "We kick the shit out of them every time."

"What do you play?" Kuroi asked.

"Lead guitar. I also sing." Her tone was slightly more involved in their conversation, something Kuroi was happy to have.

"Could I perhaps hear something later? I mean, if you want to."

"… I guess," the jacketed one said. "Tell you what: pay for lunch, and I'll give you a demo."

"Deal," Kuroi said with a smile.

-o0o-

Returning to their dorm room, the jacketed one told Nanako to wait in the kitchen while she got her instrument. Entering her room and emerging a few minutes later, the roommate held a vintage electric guitar (a 1960 Gibson SG) in her right hand and a small portable amp in her left. After plugging the amp into the wall and the guitar, she took a few minutes to adjust volume and tune the strings. Once satisfied, she turned to Nanako, who stood in front to her with great anticipation.

The roommate grinned. "Ladies and gentleman!" she announced to the single person in her audience. "I'm Sawako Yamanaka! Now stand back and prepare to have your fucking brain _ripped_!"

Slamming her guitar pick down and touching it to the strings, the amp belted out what could only be described as the creation of a God. With incredible speed, she laid out a blisteringly fast guitar solo. Never before had Kuroi heard someone play so flawlessly before.

After a full minute, the solo came to an explosive finish with one final cord struck, raising her pick high above her head. Throughout the entire solo, the jacket woman had her eyes down onto the strings of her guitar. Finally lifting her gaze back to her audience, she saw Kuroi standing as straight and still as a tree, her mouth hung open in sheer awe and her eyes glimmering with wonder.

"… Uh, Nanako?" the roommate asked, waving her hand in front of her face. "You alive?"

"… THAT WAS AWESOME!" Kuroi suddenly belted out, causing the other to jump. "I've never heard someone play like that before! You're incredible, Sawako!"

"Damn right I am!" she boasted, clearly appreciating the praise. "…Though you don't seem like the kind of person who would like this shit."

"Actually, I hate metal… But you're still great!" she added quickly.

"Right…" said Sawako. Propping the guitar against a wall, she went to the fridge and grabbed two cans of beer. "Catch," she said to Kuroi before lobbing one of them over to her over-handed. Luckily, Nanako was able to catch it an inch from her face. Had she reacted a split second later, it would have struck her square in the face.

"… Uh, Sawako?" said Nanako cautiously. "I don't really drink beer."

"Oh, don't be a bitch," said Yamanaka. "Just drink the damn thing."

Kuroi saw that, even after what just happened, there was still a long ways to go before she and Sawako would ever come _close_ to being friends. Popping the top of her beer, she took a sip and tried her best to stomach it. Being somewhat of an alcohol virgin, it only took her a quarter of the can's amount until Nanako began to loosen up a bit.

Sawako laughed at her roommate's obvious inexperience. "You're gonna be _so_ demoralized by the time I'm done with you," she joked.

The blush on Kuroi's face, which began as a show of her light-weighted drunkenness, intensified with embarrassment. "You're gonna _demoralize_ me?" she asked. "I hope you don't mean-"

"No!" Sawako immediately defended. "I don't fuck chicks. Just 'cause this is an all girls school doesn't mean I'm like half the lesbian population here!"

"… _Half_?" Kuroi deadpanned.

"I'm telling ya, all those stereotypes of all girl schools being filled with raging lesbians with nightly orgies are all true."

"And you know this _how_?"

"You think I came here alone? I got friends who came for the orgies. Don't tell me _you_ came for the same thing?"

"Oh, no," Kuroi replied. "Actually… I don't think I have any friends in Ryoko right now. All my friends went to different schools…"

"… Well, that sucks for you," Sawako said dismissively. "Well, 'light-weight,' don't get too drunk. You gotta go to that freshman's ceremony, don't ya?"

"Oh yeah, that's right." said Nanako. "That's at 13:30. Hey, do you know what time it is now?"

Sawako retrieved a mobile from a pocket of her jacket and replied "13:21."

"WHAT? Crap, I'm gonna be late!" Sprinting into her room, Nanako scrambled through her bags to grab her registration forms and class fill-out sheets. Then, giving a quick "See ya" to Sawako, she sprinted out the door and down the hallway, muttering to herself the entire way "Damn it, damn it, damn it!"

-o0o-

Kuroi returned to her dorm late, at around 22:00. Not only was the campus rather spread out with nearly every building separated by decorative courtyards, Nanako Kuroi, as all freshman had to do, was, after registering for their classes, go to the individual classes to receive a handwritten signature from the professor themselves to confirm their class choice. Kuroi was forced to walk nearly the entire length of the campus four times.

Needless to say, Nanako was exhausted. Putting all her signed registration forms on to the table, she walked over to the couch and fell backwards onto it. Immediately, she was taken back by just how uncomfortable the couch was.

"Damn," Kuroi said aloud to herself, "this couch sucks."

"Maybe it's because it's already being USED!" the couch screamed back.

Jumping to her feet, Kuroi spun around to find a flattened Sawako sprawled across the length of the couch. "Crap, sorry about that!" said Nanako. "I'm just so tired after running across campus a thousand times. My classes are so spread out, it'll be like walking a marathon every day!"

Sawako groaned herself upright from the couch, clearly not amused by the act of being sat upon. "… You know," she said to Kuroi, "the way you got on top of me, it was like we were spooning… Are you _sure_ you're not a lesbian?" she joked.

"S- Shut up!" Nanako shot back. "I am not!

"Relax, I'm just fucking with you… But yeah, I had to do all that walking around shit when I was a freshman last year. It was a bitch. Now that I'm a sophomore, I don't gotta do that shit anymore." She stood up from the couch and stretched. "I'm hitting the sack. You look like crap. You should so the same."

Giving an exhausted "Yeah," Kuroi dragged herself into her room and, after changing into her night clothes, fell into the bed. It was a long first day for her, made especially so with do to the fact that she was nearly _nothing_ like her roommate.

"_Still_," thought Kuroi to herself, "_she does seem like a nice person. Maybe I can learn to live with her…_"

* * *

**Author's Notes:** I thought up the name of the University on the spot, only realizing later what "Ryoko" was an indirect reference to. Completely unintentional, I assure you.


	2. Iron Maiden

Chapter 2

On the night classes started, Kuroi kept her promise to her parents and called them later that day. At around 21:00, in a phone booth located just outside the main gate of Ryoko U, Nanako dialed her home phone number. It would be a few rings before there came an answer.

"_Hello?_" said the woman on the other end of the line.

"Hey Mom," said Kuroi into the phone.

"_Oh, Nanako! I'm glad you called. Just a second, I'll put it on speaker so your father can talk._" After a clicking sound from the other end, a male voice sounded. "_Hey! How's my little college student doing?_"

"Fine, fine. Just finished my first day of classes. Felt like they took forever."

"_Did they seem hard?_" asked her mother.

"No, not really."

"_Did you meet your new roommate?_" she then asked. "_Is she nice_?"

"Well… She's not exactly what I expected…"

"_I see… Well, you **do** have a week to change rooms before they are set in stone. If you want to, you can see if you can change rooms_."

Looking to her right, she watched Sawako smoke a cigarette on a bench from across the street. "Actually," she said into the phone, "I think I'll be fine."

"_Are you sure, honey?_" asked her father.

Kuroi took one more glance at Sawako. "I'm sure."

-o0o-

**Cloud: Limit Break: Cross-Slash**

**Barret: Limit Break: Big Shot**

**Aerith: Limit Break: Healing Wind**

Punching that devastating combination of attacks with her Playstation controller, Kuroi watch the attack play out on the television screen. Cloud jumped forward and attacked, Barret shortly after, and Aerith followed up with a healing spell that brought everyone in the party to full health. With that, Cloud jumped in to deliver the final blow and Nanako watched as the boss, Bottomswell, turn red and fade away with a loud woosh.

When "Victory Fanfare" played through the speakers, Kuroi raised her hands into the air, proclaiming a "Hell yeah!"

Just then, Sawako Yamanaka unlocked the door from the other side and walked through, holding in each hand two plastic bags of groceries. "I'm back," she stated as she walked in and shut the door behind her.

"Hey, Sawa-chan," Kuroi greeted, not lifting her eyes from the screen. It had now been two months since her first day of Ryoko U and, at some point during that time, the two roommates made the unspoken agreement to call each other by nick-names. Heaving the bags onto the counter, Sawako began the process of putting the groceries into the fridge and cabinets.

"You know what?" Sawako said, once finished with that task. "The next time we need food, _you're_ getting it instead of making _me_ do it while _you_ sit on your ass playing games! ... What the hell are you playing, anyway?"

Still not lifting her gaze from the screen, Kuroi gave her response. "It's a new game that came out yesterday: Final Fantasy VII. It's freaking awesome!"

"Yesterday? I didn't see you come home with it."

"I went to the midnight release. There was a whole bunch of other people out there with me. Luckily, I got a good spot near the front of the line."

"_Midnight _release? You couldn't wait until today?"

"It would have been sold out by _then_," Kuroi defended.

Sawako voiced a sigh from hearing Kuroi's sheer geekiness. "I think I have new nick-name for you, Kuro-chan," she said as she approached the couch Nanako sat on. "How about 'Otakuroi?' Get it? It combines 'otaku' and 'Kuroi.' I think it's kind of cute."

"Well _I_ don't like it," Nanako shot back.

"Whatever you say, Otakuroi." Noticing the game case placed on the small table next to the couch, Sawako picked it up and examined the cover art. "Who's the blonde with the giant-ass sword?" she asked.

"Cloud Strife," Kuroi replied. "He's the main character."

Giving a "Hmm" in mild interest, she examined the cover a bit more. "Maybe he's has a giant sword to compensate for a tiny dick."

Kuroi, finding Sawako's joke extremely funny, burst into uproarious laughter and accidently dropped the controller in the process. It was in that time that the trio of enemies on screen let loose a fury of attacks that completely whipped Kuroi's party of all their health points. It was only when the "GAME OVER" music began to play that Kuroi snapped from her laughter and returned her eyes to the screen.

"What the- What the fu- DAMN IT!" she cursed, causing Sawako to laugh at her misfortune.

Kuroi seemed on the brink of tears but, quickly remembering something, she voiced a casual "Pffh." "Eh, whatever," she said aloud, "I saved the game like two seconds ago. I should be fine. Besides," she continued, turning off the Playstation and standing up from the couch, "I needed a break anyways. I was starting to feel stiff."

"Then drink this," Sawako said from the open fridge, "and loosen up." She chucked a can of beer from across the room which Kuroi caught mid-air. She was now getting use to Sawako throwing things at her.

"How about something _else_," she said as she threw the can back. "It's only 13:00: a little too early to start drinking, don't you think?"

"Not for me," Yamanaka replied as she popped the top of her own beer and taking a long swig from it. "You going to class later?"

"Nope, the day's free for me" Kuroi replied.

"Oh yeah, I forget our schedules are nearly the same." Since all classes in Ryoko University are once a week, many students, like Kuroi and Sawako, organized their schedules to have all their classes on as few days as possible, leaving lots of free time in between. Inadvertently, the two roommates of 414 scheduled all their classes on both Monday and Tuesday, leaving the rest of the week to spend together.

"So that means," Sawako continued, "you got nothing else to do for four more days, right?"

"Yep. Isn't it awesome?"

"… Hey, Kuro-chan," said Sawako, "what are you doing later tonight?"

"_Well_," she began in response, "it looks like AVALANCHE is going to infiltrate a Shin-Ra base near the town of Junon. I have no idea how they'll pull that off, since Shin-Ra's out to get them after the blew up the Sector 1 Mako Reactor, but seeing as they were able to infiltrate Shin-Ra _Headquarters_, I'm sure they'll think of-"

"What the fu- No, Otakuroi, I'm not talking about the fucking game, I mean what are you doing later in _real_ life?"

"… Well, I planned on playing more Final Fantasy. Why? You got something else planned?"

"Yeah," Sawako replied, "something _better_ than that game."

"What could be better than _that_?" Kuroi asked half joking (but more so seriously.)

Slamming the can of beer on the counter and putting her hands on her hips, Sawako gave an almost devilish grin to Nanako from across the room. "You wanna see me perform _live_?" she asked.

Since Sawako's demo on Nanako's first day of Ryoko U, Kuroi had not heard Sawako play at all. She suspected she practiced in her room, but seeing as she was not allowed inside, she never confirmed her suspicions. Now, being offered the chance to see her perform, with the rest of Death Devil, no less, nearly caused the blonde to faint with excitement.

"Y- You serious!" she squealed with giddiness. "REALLY!"

"Damn straight," Sawako grinned. "We got a gig at some shit club about twenty minutes away, in the next town. Bunch of local bands will be there. I predict… We'll _devastate_ them!"

"The whole band is gonna be there? Awesome!"

"I knew you'd be excited… But if you go, you gotta look and act like you belong. The club we're performing is sort of hardcore, and with the way you dress and act, you wouldn't get past the front door."

"Hey!" Kuroi said in a faux-sad voice. "What's wrong with the way I dress?"

"Nothing, just that they won't let you inside the way you are. Don't worry though, I'll let you borrow some of my clothes."

"O- Ok," Nanako said cautiously as she tried _desperately_ to imagine her dressed like Sawako… and failing to do so.

"Death Devil's the third act. We gotta get there early, though… about 16:00. Be ready by then, so don't be going off before then." Sawako then leaned to her right and looked at the Playstation sitting on the ground. "… Though that won't seem to be a problem, I see."

-o0o-

"Uh… Sawa-chan?" said Kuroi as she looked at herself in the full body mirror in her room. "Do I _really_ have to wear this?"

"Yes, you _do_," Sawako stated matter-of-factly. She peaked over Nanako's shoulder and looked at her in the mirror. "What are you complaining about? You don't look that bad."

"If you say so…"

Kuroi looked at what she had become in the mirror. She was put in a long sleeved black shirt, the sleeves lined with parallel cuts going down its entire length, a 'Punisher' skull printed across the front. On each hand was a black, fingerless cloth glove. She wore skinny black jeans with two metal studded belts: one placed within the loops, and the other strung from just _one_ loop, causing it to hand loosely on one side of her hip. She was also outfitted with a spare pair of Sawako's tall, black military boots. The outfit was put all together with faint black eyeliner.

"What?" asked Sawako. "You got a problem with how I dressed?"

"No," Kuroi defended, "it's just so… _different_ from what I usually wear."

"Variety is the spice of life, honey… Hmm, this doesn't look too bad on you. Although…" she dragged out, eyeing Kouri's knee length blonde hair, "the hair looks a little out of place. Maybe if we cut it-"

"NO!" Kouri snapped, spinning around and placing herself between Yamanaka and her own hair. "It took me _years_ to grow it this long. No way in hell I'm cutting it!"

"Chill, damn, I was just fucking with you. Now, get your shit and let's move. We gotta be at the club in 45."

"How _are_ we going to get there?" Nanako asked.

"My car, duh," Yamanaka replied.

"You have a car?"

-o0o-

Since the parking lot was situated on the side of campus opposite their dorm, the two were forced to pass through the campus to reach it. Passing by the students that were still out and about at that late hour, Sawako and Kuroi received many awkward glances. Though the former was completely unperturbed by the other's stares, Kuroi began to blush from embarrassment.

"I didn't know you have a car, Sawa-chan," said Kuroi.

"Of course I do," she defended back. "What? Don't tell me that _you_ don't."

"… No, I don't…"

"Shit. I'm not gonna be your fucking chauffeur, am I?"

"I'll try not to be a burden… What kind of car is it?"

"See for yourself," she replied, pointing ahead of her.

There before them sat what would be an even _bigger_ surprise to Kuroi than being offered to go see the show itself. There, in the parking lot, sat an _American_ car: a black 1968 Ford Mustang coupe hardtop with a white racing stripe running along the bottom of the door.

Kuroi nearly dropped the purse she was carrying. "T-T… That's your _car_!"

"Damn right," she said with a grin as she clicked the controller connected to her keys, deactivating the car alarm. As Sawako jumped into the driver seat, Kuroi slowly walked around the front, taking in every line and curve of the design. "Damn," she said aloud as she got into the passenger seat, "the Americans sure know how to make cars."

Shoving the key into the hole and turning it, the car roared to life, further sending Kuori into a state of euphoria. Noticing this out of the corner of Sawako's eye, she slammed onto the gas and performed a wild, drift-like turn out of the parking lot and into the empty street.

"Not bad, huh?" Sawako bragged. However, Kuroi was now too terrified to speak, her body seemingly sunk deep into the seat.

-o0o-

Parking the car behind the club in question, the "Iron Maiden," as it were, (named after a famous Amarican rock band), the girls walked to the front of the building to see the giant line that had formed.

"Wow," commented Kuroi, "that's a lot of people. You usually play for this many people?"

"Yep," she simply replied as she led her friend to the front door of the club. The bouncer, upon looking at Sawako and her friend, immediately opened the velvet rope and let them in. The inside of the club was darkly lit and nearly pack full, the noise level at near deafening.

As Kuroi looked around her with wonder in her eyes, she suddenly felt someone grab her by the hand. Jerking her head to the right, she followed the arm upward to finds that it was Sawako. "Follow me," she yelled and she pushed her way across the crowded floor, pulling a caught-of- guard Kuroi behind her.

Reaching the other side of the floor, Sawako pulled her friend into a door that led to the back stage. Other bands were already there, tuning their instruments and practicing their own individual riffs and solos. Reaching near the _back_ of the backstage, Sawako finally relinquished her grip of Nanako's wrist. Looking down to the wrist in question, then back up, she saw Sawako wrapping her arms around a few girls, similarly dressed to her (and herself, for that matter.)

Once done with their apparent greetings, Sawako turned back to Kuroi. "These bitches here," she said jokingly, "are the rest of Death Devil." The girl on the far left had short black hair, tied into a ponytail. To her left was another girl with maroon hair, arranged rather neatly with a part on her right. The last was a girl with dirty blonde hair that hung down to her mid-back.

"From left to right:" explained Sawako, "Norimi (guitar), Jane (drums), and Dera (bass.)" She turned back to her band mates. "Bitches, this is Nanako Kuroi, my roommate." One by one, the band members approached and greeted themselves individually to Kuroi.

A moment later, someone walked onto the stage and announced the first band. Once they started playing, Kuroi was struck at how good they were. After one song, they stepped off stage, thanked by the roaring crowd. Shortly after that, the second band came on and played even _better _than the first. Looking to Death Devil, Kuroi saw that their faces showed absolutely _no _signs of worry.

Then, Death Devil was announced. Charging onto stage and taking their respective places, Sawako grabbed the mike and wasted no time with screaming into it.

"MOTHERFUCKERS!" she screamed at the crown, causing them to roar in applause back (much to Kuroi's confusion.) "I feel sorry for the shit stains that are going on next, 'cause they don't fucking stand a chance! We're Death Devil and prepare to have your brains fucking RIPPED!"

"_Must be her catchphrase_," Kuroi thought to herself.

With a thunderous cord struck to start, the band launched into the song's blisteringly fast intro. Then, Sawako belted out her lyrics in a deep guttural voice Kuori never thought possible from a woman. Watching them play, Nanako _truly_ thought that this music was being played by Gods. There was no other possibility…

-o0o-

"Third place!" Sawako yelled in frustration. "Third _fucking_ place! Can you believe that shit?"

After the show, Death Devil (with Kuroi tagging along) celebrated their performance at a bar a few blocks away. Though the other members of the band seemed content with their winnings, Sawako was clearly rip-shit about the whole thing.

"Fuck those guys," she declared. "They wouldn't know music if it cut them in half with a giant-ass sword!" Kuroi, feeling a little tipsy from her _two_ beers, burst into laughter at Sawako's reference.

"Yeah, forget those guys," Kuroi assured Yamanaka in an inebriated slur. "You guys are just ahead of the curb. Trust me, a few years from not, they'll listen to your music and say 'Shit, those bitched were awesome!'"

The entire band laughed at not only Nanako's joke, but at just how loopy she was from so little alcohol. "Hey, Sawa-chan," said Normini, "you gonna be able to bring this light-weight home?"

"Yeah yeah," Sawako dismissively assured her friend. "We'll get back in one piece, given that 'Otakuroi' doesn't force me off the road with her drunkenness."

The band mates giggled. "'Otakuroi?'" asked Jane.

"Yeah, 'cause she's a _total_ otaku. She apparently went to the midnight release of some game called Final Fantasy VII and hasn't stopped playing since. Can you believe that shit?"

There was a pause of silence amongst the other members of Death Devil.

"Uh, actually, Sawa-chan," Dera said, "I went too."

"… Y- You did?" asked Sawako in disbelief.

"Me too," added Normini.

"Me also," chimed in Jane. "How far have you gotten in the game, Nanako?"

"Junon," she slurred in response, resting her head on the table's surface.

"Oh wow, I haven't gotten _that_ far. I'm still stuck on the boss battle on the Shin-Ra elevators. I attack but it keeps saying that I missed everytime! Do you know what's wrong?"

"Ranged battle," Nanako slurred. "Need long ranged fighters… Barret and magic work. Limit breaks too."

"Oh, thank you, Nanako."

"Wait a minute," chimed Normini. "I'm stuck at some swamp. This giant snake keeps decimating my party everytime."

"Need chocobo," Otakuroi replied. "Too low of level to beat at this point. Go to farm. Kid explains everything."

"Wait," added Dera, "what about-"

"What the fuck?" Sawako suddenly blurted. "What am I, surrounded!"

-o0o-

With a passed out Nanako in the passenger seat, Yamanaka drove down the empty street back to Ryoko U. It was now late: 1:43 in the morning. Making it to the parking lot, she begrudgingly slung her friend over her left shoulder and carried her across campus, up three flights of stairs, and back into room 414. Entering Kuroi's room, Sawako plopped her onto her bed and threw a blanket over her.

Looking down at her sleeping friend, a thought popped into Sawako's head. "Hmm," she whispered aloud to herself, "she's kind of cute when she's like this…" Just then, a certain _want_ popped into her head as well. She shook her head, hopping it would go away, but it did not. Looking back at Kuroi, a peaceful look on her face as she slept, Sawako decided that perhaps _acting _on this want just once wouldn't hurt. Bending down over the blonde, Sawako brought her lips close to Kuroi's forehead…

But pulled back right before contact was made. "Idiot, idiot, idiot!" she said at herself. "What the fuck am I doing? Why the fuck did I just do that?... Ugh, maybe _I_ had too much to drink. I need to sleep."

With that, Sawako went to her own bed, brushing off the thought of what she _almost_ did…

-o0o-

Kuroi finally emerged from her room the next morning, clutching her head in pain, voicing a groan. "Ugh, I feel like crap," she stated as she stepped into the kitchen.

"Pleasant dreams, Princess Otakuroi?" Sawako joked from the couch as she watched the morning news.

"The next time I go out drinking with you, please, keep reminding me that I'm a light-weight. I think I forgot last night."

"_Clearly_."

"Well, I'm gonna get some coffee (some _sweet_ coffee) from the cafeteria, see if _that_ doesn't clear my head."

"Whatever," said Sawako, turning back to the television screen.

Just as Nanako was about leave, she added one more thing to their conversation. "Sawako?"

"Yeah?" she asked, not bothering to turn around.

"… You really shouldn't think of doing that kind of stuff to people who are _passed out_, especially without their permission."

…

Sawako whipped around, giving a "Wait, wha?-!", but Nanako had already left the room and shut the door behind her.

"_Oh shit_," thought Sawako, "_she was actually awake?_"


	3. Rave

Chapter 3

_And with the fall of the Tokutgawa shogunate on May 3, 1868, many historians believe this decisive event marks the end of the Edo Period in Japan. While that may be disputed amongst modern historians today, one cannot deny the lasting impact the Edo Period had on Japanese culture._

With these last words typed into Kuroi's laptop, she reached her arms toward the ceiling in a victorious stretch. "Man!" she said aloud to herself. "It may have taken me until 2:00, but I finally finished this history report. Now all I have to do is save it, email it to one of my email accounts, get it from a school computer, and print it out. Easy."

Punching the "Save" command with the keyboard, she watched the little bar in the bottom left corner of the screen fill up. Suddenly, just as the bar neared completion, the computer screen went black.

"Wha- What the fu- No. No, no, NO!" Nanako began furiously pounding away at the keys, trying in vain to turn the computer back on. When nothing happened, she fell into despair. "No, that took me all night to complete! Fuck. Fuck! FUCK!"

Suddenly, Sawako burst through the door to Kuroi's room, dressed in her pajamas and bearing dark, black bags beneath her eyes (which looked none too happy to be woken up at this hour.) "Hey!" she yelled in aggravation. "What's with all the 'fucking' in here?"

Kuroi lifted her eyes from the key board and to Sawako. They were now beginning to well up with tears. "It's terrible! A travesty! My life is over!" Kuroi wept.

"_What's_ a travesty?"

"I just finished my report on the Edo Period that's due this afternoon, but when I saved it… The screen just went black! Now I'll have to start all over again!"

Just as Kuroi began to cry, Sawako let loose a long groan of exhaustion. "You idiot," she said, "you probably just ran out of juice."

"Juice? But I had it plugged into the wall!"

"Look at the plug, Otakuroi!"

Shifting the laptop aside, indeed, the plug had somehow disconnected from the laptop during Kuroi's writing session.

"Plug it back in," advised Yamanaka, "and press the power button again. It should be just how you left it."

Nanako did just as Sawako said and, much to her incredible elation, the screen turned back on and had returned back to her word document, just as she had left it. "I'm saved!" Nanako proclaimed. "Thank you so much, Sawa-chan!"

"… If I _ever_ have to wake up at such a godforsaken hour again, you better be getting murdered or something 'cause if you aren't, I'll kill you _myself_!" Sawako threatened and shammed the door shut.

Though suddenly stricken with fear from Sawako's sudden ferocity, as Nanako sent the email, she smiled to herself and whispered aloud "Thanks, Sawa-chan."

-o0o-

After a busy day of Tuesday classes, Kuroi finally felt relaxed as she stepped back into her dorm. Thanks to Sawako's assistance, she was able to print out and hand in her report on time. Tossing her bags to the side of her bed in her room, returning to her dorm after 21:00, Kuroi returned to what she had wanted to do all day.

**Cloud: Spell: Bolt 2**

** Yuffie: Attack**

** Cid: Limit Break: Hyper Jump**

With the playing of the now all too familiar "Victory Fanfare," Kuroi grinned in the wake of yet another successful battle. As she then moved her character across the Overword map, the front door opened and Sawako entered.

"Fuck," was the first word she uttered upon entering. "Today was shit. _Two_ tests and now I have a report due next week… And _you're_ still playing the game, I see. You haven't beaten it yet?"

"Not even close," Nanako replied.

After putting her things in her own room, Sawako approached Kuroi from behind the couch and looked at the television screen. "_Hey_," commented Sawako with interest, "who's the buff guy with the spear? New party member?"

"Yeah. Cid Highwind."

"Hmm, not bad looking. Seems like my kind of guy," she joked.

"Oh yeah, he's _totally_ your type, Sawa-chan. He smokes, swears like a Yakuza, and his Limit Breaks are pretty devastating."

"… I have _no_ idea what that last part meant, but the rest I like."

Just as Kuroi had entered another random battle, her mobile, placed next to her on the floor, began to vibrate and ring. Would you know it, it rung a polyphonic version of the Final Fantasy VII Victroy Fanfare.

Sawako shook her head upon hearing it. "How am I not surprised you'd have that ringtone, Otakuroi? Well, go ahead and answer it."

Pausing the game, she brought the mobile to her ear. "Hello?" she answered. "… Oh hey, what's up?... Yeah, playing it now… What's that?... Really? Around _here_? Where?... No kidding. We should totally go th-… You can't? Awww, that sucks… What? Go without you? You sure?... Ok. Thanks for telling me anyways. Talk to you later… Bye." Hanging up, she put the phone back next to her and returned straight back into the game.

"Who was that?" asked Sawako.

"Just a friend from my ancient Japanese history class. She was telling me about some-" Pausing mid-word, Kuroi paused the game and rose to her feet to face Sawako. "Hey, Sawa-chan," she said, "since you took me to something that _you_ liked, you wanna go to something _I_ like?"

Sawako's instant response was "No."

"Awww, come on! You brought me to 'Iron Maiden,' so it's only fare!"

"Well, as I recall, I _asked_ if you wanted to and you _choose_ to go. _I'm_ choosing _not_ to go to whatever you're talking about."

"Y-Yeah, but…" She was desperately attempting to think up some sort of leverage to put on Sawako. "But… But you made me wear all that clothing!"

"So?" Yamanaka shot back.

"So… You… Owe me?

"… You're not making a convincing argument, Otakuroi."

"I know," Nanako stated defeatedly.

"… But I changed my mind. I'll go to your stupid thing… What the hell is it anyway?"

"Oh, they have a website on the internet. Give me, like, ten minutes to turn my computer on and get on the internet.

Pulling a cigarette pack and lighter from a pocket in her jacket, Sawako replied "I'll be right here waiting."

-o0o-

True to Kuroi's word, after about fifteen minutes, Nanko's voice sounded from within her room. "I go it," she said. "Come here and check it out."

Blowing one final puff of smoke between her lips, Sawako put out her cigarette and enter Kuroi's room. Nanako sat crossed-legged atop her bed, the laptop sitting in front of her on the bedspread. Approaching the device, Sawako picked it up and began scrolling through the webpage, muttering aloud its contents.

"Hmm… Looks like some sort of techno rave shit… You like going to that shit?"

"Hell yeah!" she enthusiastically replied. "I love those kinds of places. The lights, the pounding music, everyone dancing to the beat, covered in the perspiration of ecstasy!"

"… Ok, _that's_ gross… Still, sounds like it might be fun. When do we go?"

"Tomorrow," Kuroi replied. "We can go anytime, really. It starts at 20:00 and doesn't end until 8:00 the next day."

"Well I'm not fucking staying out _that _late," Sawako demanded.

"Yeah yeah, sure… Oh, and Sawa-chan… You'll have to wear _my_ clothes this time."

"Aww, is Otakuroi still hurt that she had to wear something _else_ for a change?" Yamanaka mocked.

"Hey, I'm doing you a favor by giving you this warning."

"Alright, alright, what do you wanna say?"

"It gonna be wicked hot inside and if we're gonna start dancing, we need loose clothing that'll _breathe_. Trust me, you'll thank me later. Oh, and I caught the weather earlier today: it looks like it'll rain pretty intensely in the early morning tomorrow, so we _should _leave by then."

"Whatever you say, Otakuroi," Sawako joked.

"And stop calling me that!"

-o0o-

The next day, the roommates of 414 found themselves in a familiar position: walking across campus in order to reach the parking lot. Taking Nanako's advice, Sawako dressed for the upcoming occasion. Though the lower half of the two's attires stayed relatively unchanged (save Sawako's wearing of sneakers in place of boots), she wore a tight fitting, plain black t-shirt (leaving the jacket at the dorm.) Nanako chose something similar (except her shirt was white, emblazoned across the front with a _Hyper Police_ logo.) Sawako wanted to say something regarding the shirt, but decided to keep her mouth shut.

Driving out of the parking lot in Sawako's car, Kuroi gave the directions by simple means of "left," "right," and "keep going forward." After thirty minutes or so, they reached the warehouse district of a town adjacent to the one Ryoko U was in. A designated parking lot was three blocks from the warehouse the event was being held in.

Even from that distance, the two could hear the pounding, rhythmic bass from inside. Walking down the sidewalk, it only grew in decibels. Taking their place at the end of the line outside the front door, the two girls waited patiently.

Sawako waited no more than sixty seconds before busting out a cigarette. As she smoked, Nanako could not help but peak her head out and look at the line of others in front of them. She noticed all the couples that had gone: not only boy/girl, but also boy/boy, and (seemingly the majority of them), female/female.

"Wow," Kuroi commented aloud, "there's a lot of couples here."

"Jealous?" Sawako joked.

"N-No," she quickly defended, quickly turning silent.

It would be another several minutes until the two Ryoko U students finally reached the front door. Paying the fee, both of the tops of their hands were marked in thick, permanent marker with a large, black "X." This would ensure that, were they to leave the building, they could return inside without paying the fee more than once.

With that done, the two stepped inside. Being this an alien place for Sawako, she followed _Kuroi's_ lead for a change. The door opened to a long, dimly lit hallway, a pounding bass beat ripping through it. Sawako followed Kuroi to its very end, where another door stood. Opening the door for her friend, Sawako was nearly knocked off her feet from the sight.

Displayed before her was a huge crowd of literally _thousands_, all jumping to the beat of the music, their hands thrown into the air. The whole room flashed with strobe lights, green lasers that reached across the entire lengths of the room, and the artificial fog that accentuated said lasers.

With an agape jaw, Sawako could only muster the words "HOLY SHIT!"

"Come on!" said Nanako. "Follow me!" This time, Nanako grabbed _Sawako_ by the hand and pulled her through the crowd. She pulled her to a spot near the back of the room, where the bar was located and the crowds were _far_ less congested. In this part of the club were positioned many couches where people could simply sit and listen to the music.

"We should stay here, Sawa-chan," advised Nanako. "_Everyone_ tries to get up to the front so it'll be _way_ too crowded to attempt it. So, you wanna dance now or in a bit?"

"Bitch," she replied, "I came here to dance!"

Giving an "All right!", Kouri grabbed Sawako by the hand once more and pulled her about three rows of people into the crowd, just enough that the bar and back wall was still within view. Once finding an empty spot in the crowd, Nanako wasted no time and instantly began to dance, jumping into the air with each thump of the beat.

Sawako stared at her friend, wondering what the hell she was doing. Finally, she asked, "What the hell are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" she shot back rhetorically. "I'm dancing."

"No, that's not dancing. _That's_ just random movement."

"Well, isn't that what dancing is?"

Seeing no end to their banter, Sawako made the smart choice to give up, proclaiming a defeated "What the hell," and she began to mimic Nanako's movements. At first, she felt like a complete idiot, but as the music continued to play, shifting seamlessly from song to song, such feelings began to fade, replaced now by euphoria.

The girls took a break from dancing an hour and a half later. They removed themselves from the crowd and plopped themselves onto an empty couch. Both had visible sweat on their brows and necks. They sat for a full five minutes without speaking a word, instead allowing their heavy breathing to speak for them.

Eventually, Nanako was the first to speak with _words_. "Wanna drink?" she asked Sawako, looking over her left shoulder.

"Yeah," she replied. "Rum and cola, if you can."

Kouri got up from her seat and headed to the bar, ordering two rum and colas. With drinks in hand, she turned back to where they sat to find that her spot was filled. Some guy had walked himself over to Sawako and decided to sit himself down. And it looked like the two were in conversation.

For whatever reason, upon looking at that site, the blood in Nanako's veins rose to an absolute boil.

Kuroi marched over and wrapped around the left of the couch, placing distance between her and the guy. Handing Sawako her drink, she immediately dispensed with the most obvious question. "Who's this?"

"I don't fucking know," she replied. "He just walked over and started taking to me like he fucking knew me."

The guy, dressed in loose clothing, lifted his eyes off Sawako and moved them to Kouri. "You this chick's friend?" he asked Kuroi, clearly talking about Yamanaka.

"Yes," she stated back.

"_Girl_friend?" he then asked.

"Friend."

"Then you won't mind if your _friend_ and I talk for a bit, right?"

"Actually," said Nanako, walking over to the guy and grabbing him by the arm, "I _do_ mind." With the strength of her one arm, she lifted him from his seat and pushed him aside, placing herself between him and Sawako.

"Listen, babe, she and I were just talking," the man attempted to reason. "No need to get your panties in a bunch."

"Don't care. She doesn't wanna talk so you can _fuck_ off!"

Sawako reared her head back in shock, witnessing for the first time Sawako ever uttering the word "Fuck."

Though initially caught off guard, the guy then took a defiant step forward, threatening a "Or what?"

Nanako grinned, just _hoping_ he would say that. Taking that cue, Nanako slowly approached him, cupped her hands around his left ear and whispered something into it. Sawako, sitting on the couch with drink in hand, witnessed this occur from afar. She did not hear what Kuroi had said, but when she lifted her hands from his ear, with a vacant look, the man turned and walked away without speaking a word.

Satisfied, Nanako plopped back down onto the couch. In her head, "Victory Fanfare" played.

"… What the fuck did you just tell him?" Sawako finally blurted out.

"… It's best you don't know," she simply replied before, much to Sawako's _further_ surprise, Kuroi gulped down _half_ her rum and cola in one sitting.

"Shit," commented Sawako. "I'm not gonna be dragging your ass out of _here_ am I?"

"Nope. I think I've gotten better at handling my booze." Taking another gulp, she asked Sawako "Up for another dance?"

"You bet!" she replied.

-o0o-

It would be after 3:00 when the Ryoko University students finally left the club for good. From all the dancing they did, their bodies felt drenched in perspiration. However, that was moot point, as the storm that Nanako warned of had arrived sooner than expected. Heavy rain poured from the sky, accompanied by the occasional lightning and thunder.

Seeing as the two were _already_ drenched, they gladly walked through the rain at a modest pace, acting as if the weather was perfect.

"You know what, Nanako?" said Sawako. "I take back call this place stupid. It was awesome! I had no idea you'd know how to have fun."

"Hey, what's _that_ suppose to mean?" Kuroi faux-cried. Before Sawako could say that she was joking, a furious gust of wind struck the pair of students, send a wall of rain into them, further drenching their clothes.

"AGH! Fucking storm!" Sawako screamed to the clouds above. "You know what? You can suck my clit!"

Kuroi burst into laughter at Yamanaka's threat. "Wow, Sawa-chan, being a little _free_ with your body, aren't we?"

"Ha, good one Kuro-chan. Don't worry, I'm not _that_ loose. Besides, I'm saving _that_ for someone special."

"You _are_?" Nanako asked curiously. "Who is it? A boyfriend or something?"

Sawako stopped mid-stride, halting Nanako as well. "S-Sawa-chan?" she asked.

"… No, _not_ a boyfriend," she replied solemnly.

"… Then who?"

"… Can this be continued when we get back?" asked Sawako before continuing down the sidewalk. Kuroi watched as she walked away from her.

"_Sawa-chan…_"

-o0o-

The two spoke not a word through the entire ride home nor on the walk up the stairs to their dorm room. Completely clear from the rain, they wordlessly decided to do the same thing. Walking over to the sink, they began to take off their sopping wet clothing and wrung them dry over the drain. Draping their wet clothing over the chairs that sat around the wooden table, they suddenly found themselves in nothing but their underwear.

After a brief moment of awkward silence, Sawako Yamanaka was finally the first to speak. "Ichigo," she said.

"Ichigo?" Nanako repeated. "What's that? _Another_ nickname for me? Listen, I'll accept 'Otakuroi' because it _kind of_ makes since, but 'Ichigo' makes absolutely _no-_"

"No, Kuro-chan, it's not that."

"… Then what?"

She paused. "… It was the name of a boy I use to like, in high school."

Kuroi's eyes widened, whispering a faint gasp.

"I use to _really_ like him," she continued. "One day, I finally worked up the courage to tell him that I liked him.

Do you know what he said back?"

"… Uh… I love you?" Nanako replied, rather aware that she was wrong.

"He said 'I like my girls more _wild_.'"

"… oh," Kuroi whispered.

"That was when I _began_ to become wild. I made myself become more wild by the day in the hopes that he would like me. One day, I came before him again and showed him how wild I became.

You know what he said _then_?"

Kuroi chose to remain silent.

"He said "Sawako… You overdid it.'"

…

Nanako shifted uncomfortably on her feet. "S-Sawa-chan, I-"

"Forget it, Kuro-chan," said Yamanaka. "It's in the past now. It doesn't mean shit now… I'm going to bed."

Before Sawako could enter the impenetrable sanctuary that was her room, Kuroi spoke up. "Wait, Sawa-chan…" She wanted to say _something_ to cheer her friend up, but nothing came to mind. Digging deep to pull out a complementary gem, she finally said awkwardly, "… _I_ like wild girls…"

Sawako gave Kuroi a two second glace over her left shoulder before stepping into her room and locking the door behind her.

"_Oh, that didn't turn out how I intended," _Nanako put through her mind. "_Sawa-chan, I'm sorry._"

Kuroi slowly approached the door to her bed. Just before she entered, she thought she heard soft whimpers through the adjacent door.


	4. Christmas Relations

Chapter 4

It would be quite the while before the relationship between Sawako and Nanako even _began_ to resemble what it was _before_ that night. During that time, they did not speak of that night to each other _once_. It was not as if they stopped talking to each other _completely_, but Nanako felt as if a great distance was put between herself and Sawako. She wished to bring up the event, but decided it was best to put it in their past.

"_No point in opening old wounds like that…_" she told herself.

-o0o-

Christmas Eve seemed to sneak up covertly in the mind of Nanako. Many students of Ryoko University had already left school grounds, reuniting with family and friends for the first time in perhaps months. Though Kuroi had not realized it, _she_ was missing her family as well.

Packing the last of her supplies (enough for a few days) she slung the single duffle bag over her shoulder and left her room. She found Sawako's head peaking from behind the front of the couch, its front watching television.

"Well, I just finished packing," Kuroi announced from across the room to Sawako. Hearing this, she quickly sat up from her seat walked over to Kuroi, prepared to give her one final farewell before she went off.

"Leaving so soon?" the auburn haired woman asked.

"Yeah," replied the blonde. "The train ride is kind of long and it'll probably be even longer, given the snow."

Sawako glanced out the left corner of her eye out the windows above the sink and counters, at the white sky outside. "Yeah," she commented. "I think I heard that it'll snow for at least a few more days."

"Yeah…" Even after all this time, there still lingered uneasiness between the two students. "Will you be good on your own for a while?" Kuroi asked.

"Sure," was the other's response. "I'll be fine on my own for a few days. Not like _I_ got family to visit." She was referring to the fact that shortly after Sawako became "wild," her family began talking to her less and less. Finally realizing she was no longer wanted in her own home, she moved out and lived with a friend for a bit before finally being accepted into Ryoko U.

They stood before each other in complete silence, each of them desperately trying to think of the next thing to say, _anything_ to keep the conversation going. When a few uneventful seconds past, there was nothing else left for Sawako to do but speak the inevitable.

"Well," she said, "have a nice time… Good-b-"

"No!" Nanako suddenly blurted.

"No?" her roommate repeated.

"This isn't right. I shouldn't be going off and having fun over Christmas break while leaving my friend here to have no fun at all!"

"K-Kuro-chan, it's fine," Sawako assured her friend. "I be ok h-"

"Hold on," said Nanako as she fished through her pants pocket for her mobile. "I'll call my parents, see if it's ok for you come over for Christmas."

"Your par- Wait, WHAT! Nanako, stop! You don't have to-"

Too late.

She had already punched in the number and put the phone to her ear. "Mom?" she said into her mobile. "Hey, it me, Nanako… Yeah, I'm fine… Looking forward to seeing you tonight, too… Hey, listen, is it ok if a friend comes as well?… It's Sawako… Really, it's ok? Thanks!... I'll be there around 20:00, ok? See you then… Bye."

Hanging up and slipping her mobile back into her pocket, she turned back to her friend with a gleeful grin. "See? It's all set. You can stay for dinner and-"

WHAM!

Sawako's fist made contact with the crown of Nanako's head, producing a comically large bump. "I _said_ I would be fine on my own, Otakuroi!" Yamanaka protested. "You didn't need to fucking do that!"

"Well, I felt bad leaving you here all alone," Nanako explained. "… So, _will_ you be able to come?"

Voicing an exasperated sigh, Sawako replied with a "Sure… But I gotta do some shit before then, so I might get there later than you."

"Ok," said Kuroi with a nod. Even though Sawako _sounded_ angry, Nanako smiled, knowing that things were _finally_ back to the way they were. _How_ she knew this was simply: she was just called "Otakuroi."

-o0o-

The train arrived earlier than expected, at around 19:30. With her home still a distance away, Kuroi slung her overnight bag over her shoulder and began to walk the snow blanketed road toward the center of her hometown, where her parent's home was located.

The town Nanako had grown up in was small, to say the least. The town's tallest building was the three story town hall. Nanako had always joked that if you stood atop it and threw a stone in any direction, it would always land _outside_ the town's limits.

After a short walk, her home finally came within view: a modest two story home with a two car garage attached. Approaching the front door, she took in a deep breath before finally knocking on it. She could instantly hear her mother hurriedly telling her father to get ready. After a few seconds, the door finally opened.

On the other side appeared Nanako's mother, Hina, a woman of fifty years, with lightened blond hair atop her head. Behind her stood her slightly older husband, Takumi, a rather portly individual, sporting a balding head of light gray hair. Stepping inside, her parents instantly dispensed with warm greetings, eventually asking the inevitable questions.

"So, when does Yamanaka-san arrive?" asked Hina.

"She said she had a few things to take care of before she headed over here, so she said she'd probably be late," Nanako replied.

The three sat in the living room, where their Christmas tree was placed, and Nanako's parents began with their standard fare of questions: Having fun? How are your grades? Meet any interesting new people? Keep in contact with your friends from high school? With that last question, Nanako seemed hesitant to answer. In truth, she had forgotten all about high school and her friends from then…

It what felt like no time at all, the clock reached 21:14 and there came the sound of a rumbling car engine from the driveway outside, accompanied with two beeps of a car horn. "That must be her," commented Hina.

"Ah, yes," said Takumi, "the 'muscle car.'" When Nanako told her father about Sawako's car, he sounded very interested over the phone. A moment later, there came a knock at the door, to which Nanako instantly got up from her seat and approached.

"_Oh God, please_," she thought to herself, "_please let Sawako dress somewhat formally today. Just for today…_"

Opening the door, Nanako's hopes were instantly shattered or, as Sawako seemed to reference often, were shredded by a giant-ass sword.

Sawako had dressed no different than she would have on an average day. She stood in the doorway of the Kuroi residence dressed in black jeans, her military boots, leather jacket over a tight white t-shirt, and an overnight bag slung over her shoulder. Then, as if to intentionally instigate looks from Nanako's parents, she had tied around her neck a small, black leather belt (which almost resembled a dog's collar) and atop her head of auburn hair was a Russian officer's ushanka.

"Greetings," she said as she walked inside and took off her boots and placed next to the other shoes near the doorway. Tucking her hat into her bag, she approached both Mr. and Mrs. Kuroi with an extended arm. "Sawako Yamanaka," she introduced herself. "I assume you two are responsible for the creation of this little lady behind me?

_Oh God, just kill me now!_

"Y-Yes," replied the father. "I am Takumi Kuroi," he greeted, accepting Sawako's handshake.

"And I am Hina Kuroi," said the mother, doing the same. "We'll make some tea. You two can wait in the living room while we get it ready."

With that, the two students sat quietly on the same couch in the living room while both Hina and Takumi made the tea from the kitchen.

Looking around her, Sawako commented, "You got a nice place here, Kuroi."

"… Sawa-chan," said Nanako. "You think you could have dressed a little _nicer_ for this? I mean, what's with that collar?"

"Hey, if I dressed all nice all of a sudden for them, I'd be lying to them by not showing them the _real_ Sawako… And the collar is so you can keep me in line," she joked.

"What the fu-… Well, could you try and act just a _little_ less like Sawako? Just for today? That means cutting down on your swearing."

"Fine, fine… Anything for you, Otakuroi."

"And _don't_ call me that in front of my parents!"

Nanako's parents returned to the living room, the misses holding a tray with four cups that steamed with hot tea. Placing the tray atop a low, glass coffee table, Hina passed each person in the room a cup, allowing them to add sugar to their individual cups at their leisure. Taking a sip from cup placed into her hand, Sawako made the comment of "This is some good sh-… stuff, it's good stuff, Mrs. Kuroi."

_Close call._

"… So, Yamanaka-san," began Takumi, "what-"

"Sawako's fine."

"… Very well, _Sawako_, what are planning to major in?"

"Music," she stated. "Maybe music theory, Musicology, something like that."

"Nanako has told me that you are in a band… Dirt Devil, was it?"

"_Death_ Devil," Sawako corrected. "We're not really that big yet, but we're slowly getting some notoriety. Then again, our style's not that accepted."

"Why is that?" asked Hina.

"We're too much for people. Compared to the stuff we sometimes compete against in shows, it's like _they_ are coffee and _we're_ espresso."

"I see," Hina said, now showing an honest interest in what Sawako was talking about. "Oh, Nanako, I forgot to ask earlier. Have you joined any extra-circular clubs yet?"

Nanako open her mouth to reply, only to be cut off by Sawako answering, "Nope. We're both a couple of NEETS."

"NEETS?" asked Takumi.

"'Not in Education, Employment, or Training.'"

"Yeah," added Nanako, speaking for the first time during the exchange. "We're usually going out every night, so having jobs would be kind of a drag…"

"… Where exactly do you two go so often?" Takumi inquired from her daughter.

_Uhh…_

"Oh, you know, just some clubs every now and then, nothing big."

"Do you bring _others_ along," asked Hina, "or is it just you two?"

Nanako _knew_ what she was implying. She now needed to answer this question the right way to ward of her parents suspicions that-

"Nope," answered Sawako, "just us two ladies, out on the town like a couple of l-"

Fearing her next word, Nanako suddenly grabbed Sawako by her collar and yanked it downward with such force that it almost pulled her off the couch.

"Ouch. Damn it, Kuroi, I didn't think you'd do it _that_ hard!" Sawako protested.

"You just don't know when to stop sometimes, Sawa-chan," Nanako groaned.

"What, I was gonna say 'long lost friends.' Don't get angry at me because you get a little embarrassed."

"I'm _not_ embarrassed! You just-" Nanako turned her eyes back to her Mom and Dad who had, with widened eyes, watched the two's entire outburst. "Oh shi- I'm so sorry, Mom and Dad. This isn't what you're thinking, I swear!"

"… What _are_ we thinking, honey?" asked Hina.

_FUCK…_

"N- Nothing! Nothing at all… Jeez, I need to go to the bathroom. Excuse me." Nanako shot up from the couch and quickly left the room and headed straight for the bathroom. Locking the door, she finally had a quite place to think.

"_This is turning out **horribly**_," she thought to herself as she looked herself in the mirror. "_Damn it, Sawa-chan, what were you thinking wearing the damn collar… Wait a minute, why did I even **reach** for the thing?_

_ Jesus, I don't even want to go back outside. I don't think I have the courage to look Mom and Dad in the eye after that little stunt."_

There came a knock on the door. "Hey, Kuroi," said Sawako, "you ok in there?"

"No, I think I'll stay here for the rest of… forever."

"Come on, Nanako, come on out… If it'll make you feel better," she continued, now whispering, "I said the whole thing was my fault and asked them politely to forget it happened."

"You can't just tell people to forget something like that, Sawa-chan."

"… Fine, stay in there if you want, but your parents were worried seeing you run off like that. You should at least apologize for running off suddenly like that."

A few seconds later, Nanako slowly emerged from the bathroom and, with Sawako by her side as support, sat back down in the living room where her mother and father waited patiently.

Nanako had not the courage to look her mother and father in the eye, instead choosing to look at the spot of ground near her feet. Feeling the jab of Sawako's elbow into her left arm, accompanied with the command of "Apologize," Nanako finally worked the strength to lift her gaze and look both Hina and Takumi in their eyes.

She heaved a huge sigh before speaking. "… Mom, Dad… I sorry for that. I didn't mean to be so rude, leaving the room like that. And the thing with the collar-"

"Forget it," said Takumi. "Sawako explained everything."

"… She _did_," Nanako deadpanned.

"Your friend explained to us," Takumi continued, "that it was a sudden joke and that she admits that she went too far."

Nanako turned to Sawako. "Yeah," said the reddish-brunette, "it was stupid of me to pull something like that so soon on you. Sorry." With that, Sawako removed the collar from her neck and tucked it away into a pocket of her jacket.

Voicing a sigh of her own, Hina spoke. "Well now," she said calmly, "I think it is about time we had our dinner."

While everyone rose from their seat to head to the dinner table, Nanako was too flabbergasted to move. "_They were **that** willing to forget the whole thing?_" she thought to herself. "_What exactly did Sawako say to them?_"

"Hey, Nanako," said Yamanaka, "you gonna eat?"

Shaking her head from thought, she rose from the couch and joined everyone else at the table.

-o0o-

Much to Nanako's _immense_ relief, dinner went off without another incident. Once everyone was finished, Hina collected everyone's dishes. Collecting Sawako's, she commented once more that "The food was excellent."

"Thank you, Yamana- I mean Sawako." Then, placing all the dishes into the sink, Hina glanced at the clock and was surprised to see that it was past 22:00. "Oh dear, it so late."

"I guess we're past out bedtimes, Nanako," joked Sawako. "Let's hit the sack." Nodding in agreement, the two grabbed their bags and headed upstairs to Nanako's room.

Once sure that the two girls were out of earshot, Hina turned to her husband. "Well, she _does_ seem like a nice person," she said, obviously referring to Sawako.

"Hmm," said Tikumi in response. "She and Nanako seem to be rather close as well, especially after witnessing _that_."

"… Something on your mind, honey?"

"… Just a thought."

"What is it?"

"… Well, again, it's just a thought, but after watching them, I'm beginning to wonder if our daughter and Sawako are… you know…"

"Oh, honey, don't assume things like that," Hina assured her husband.

"But we have to be prepared if it happens, if Nanako and Sawako become… _that_ close."

"… Well, what should we do if it happens? In both out families, we haven't really had le- Well, _that_ kind of person. Should we support Nanako's relationship?"

Takumi voiced an exasperated sigh. "If it happens… I think we should be supportive. If it turns out that Nanako and Sawako _are_ that close… We shouldn't get in their way."

"Honey, I'm scared."

"I am too… But these _are_ changing times. What was considered blasphemous back when _we_ were children is more accepted nowadays. We should just try to keep up with the times as best we can."

"… You're right," agreed Hina with a nod. "Still, I'm scared."

"Don't be scared… Our little girl is just growing up, Hina, one way or another…"

-o0o-

"Holy crap," Nanako sighed aloud, closing the door to her room, "that was more nerve-racking than I ever imagined… No thanks to _you_, Sawa-chan!"

"Hey, it's not my fault that you wanted to knock me around," she defended with a smirk.

"What the hell was that collar for anyways? What did you wear that in front of my _parents_ for?"

"Hey, I chose to wear that thing on a whim," she said, retrieving said collar from her pocket and putting it back on (just to spite Nanako.)

"You've _never_ worn that collar before, _ever_, and _now_ you wear it to my parents house, claiming it was on a _whim_? I don't buy that one bit!"

Taking a step back, Sawako's grin widened. "Touché, Nanako," Sawako commended. "You saw through my ruse… Ok, you caught me. I bought that collar _today_, just for this occasion… The hat as well. I didn't own any winter hats."

Kuroi brought her right hand to her face and pinched the bridge of her nose, the feeling of a headache come across the horizon of her mind. "You couldn't have chosen a better time to break that thing out?" she asked. "I mean, I like it, but-"

"Wait… You actually _like_ the collar?" asked Sawako.

Kuroi's face turned a slight shade of red. "… Actually, I do," she whispered.

Sawako smiled, turning slightly red herself. "I can let you borrow it sometime, if you want," she offered.

"N- NO!" Nanako instantly replied. "Let's just go to bed, already." As Kuroi dug out a pair of pajamas from her bag, Sawako looked around the room and asked "Well, where are _you_ going to sleep?"

"What's that suppose to mean? On the bed, obviously."

"Well I'm not sleeping on the fucking floor, is that's what you're implying."

"Well neither am I. It's _my_ room, after all."

"… Then we have two options: we both sleep on the floor… or we both sleep in the _bed_."

Her blush intensifying, she looked at her bed, her mind instantly picturing the sight of them both under one sheet. "Y- You mean at the same time?" she asked.

"Well _duh_, we're obviously not gonna take turns!"

Looking at her bed once more, Nanako relented. "Fine, I guess we'll have to," she said.

Putting on their pajamas, the two Ryoko U students both tried to squeeze themselves under the sheets and comforter of a single-sized bed. Much to Nanako's discomfort, in order to fit both of themselves under the covers with _any _sort of comfort, there was no other option than to be pressed against each other. With their warms backs touching, the lights were turned off.

Nanako, nervous of being in bed with another person (another woman, no less) couldn't fall asleep for at least another hour after the lights were turned out.

-o0o-

Nanako woke the next morning with the sound of Sawako's voice saying "WAKE UP, BITCH!"

Nearly falling out of the bed from the scare, Nanako shot her eyes open to see a fully clothed Sawako hovering her head above her. Kuroi noticed that her friend was wearing her collar once more. "… Are you going to wear that thing all the time?" Kuroi sleepily asked her friend.

"Yes," Sawako stated, "now get your ass up. It's Christmas, remember?"

"… So it is," she said back with a slight smile.

Ripping herself from beneath the covers and getting dress, the two headed downstairs but before heading into the living room, they decided on have a quick bit to eat. Frying up a few quick eggs, they brought their breakfast into the living room. Beneath the tree were several presents of varying size. Nanako remembered back to the many Christmases from before and how her parents wrapped their presents: Nanako's presents were primarily red, her mother's green, and her father's usually either blue or white. It looked like the majority of the presents this year were red.

After waiting a few minutes, Hina and Takumi emerged from the upstairs. After getting breakfast of their own, the entire Kuroi family (plus Sawako) gathered in the living room and began to open their presents. While the openings unfolded, Sawako seemed content with watching from a distance, admiring the joy on Nanako's face with each present she opened.

Nanako received mostly clothing this year (which she had asked for, anyway.) The present she seemed the most happy receiving was a new Sony CD Player (a gift she apparently been asking for for months.) Hina seemed most pleased with the gift of a gold necklace (complements of Mr. Kuroi), and Takumi enjoyed the most a new birdfeeder.

Once everyone of the Kuroi family had finished opening their presents, Sawako finally brought herself closer to the tree and retrieved a small, wrapped item from a pocket in her jacket. Passing it to Nanako, she gave a casual "Merry Christmas."

Suppressing her urge to squeal out in giddiness, Nanako gladly took the gift from Sawako's hand. Examining the shape of the package itself, she _instantly_ recognized it as a CD case. Excited at the possibilities, she feverously ripped away the rapping. Her eyes widening at the black Playstation banner, she read the title of the game aloud.

"_Metal Gear Solid_… Hmm, I don't think I've heard of this game before," commented Nanako gratefully.

"_That_," said Sawako, "is because it's _new_. Just came out a few days ago, just in time for the holiday season."

"Thank you, Sawa-chan… Crap! I forgot to get your gift. It's just upstairs, I'll be right back," and with that, Nanako ran back up the stairs to return a few seconds later holding a small item, wrapped literally in newspaper comics, with the _exact_ same proportions of Nanako's gift from Sawako.

Giving a smile to show her gratefulness, Sawako unwrapped her gift. Indeed it was a cd, but it was not a game. It was, in fact, an American music CD. Being as her English was rather rusty, Sawako attempted to say the band's name.

"_Panaterra_… I _think_ I've heard of them before."

"The guy behind the counter recommended them."

"… Nanako, do you even know this band?"

"… No… But the cover looked interesting."

Nanako's mother stifled her laughter at Nanako's apparent gift-choosing thought process. "Mom, don't laugh! It's so hard to find 'metal' in music stores these days, I struggled even finding _that_!"

"Well, I like the gift either way. Thanks, Otakuroi- Oops."

Nanako's father shot up a single eyebrow. "_Ota_-Kuroi?" he repeated aloud. "I'm not sure I get it."

"Uh… H- Hey, Sawa-chan, you wanna check out the town for a while, to kill some time?"

Sawako shrugged her shoulders, giving a "Why not?" in response. After the two packed away their Christmas presents (or _present_ for one of them) into their bags, they threw on their coats and headed outside.

It was clear that it had snowed the previous night as there laid a light fluffy layer of powder on the ground. Once outside, Sawako retrieved her car keys from a pocket in the jacket, but just as she was about to put them into the key hole on the door, Nanako protested.

"Wait, we don't need the car," she said, pointing to something in the distance in front of them. "The town's right _there_." Kouri was pointing to the cluster of perhaps fifteen two-story builds in the distance, perhaps only five blocks away. Sawako had not seen the town that well from driving in late last night.

"Damn, your town _is_ small, Kuro-chan," commented Sawako. "So what? Do we walk there?"

"Of course… Unless little Sawa-chan's too weak to walk such a _long_ distance," Nanako joked.

"Ha! Bitch, these boots were _made_ for walking!" Sawako boastfully declared.

-o0o-

The town that Nanako had grown up in was just as she had left it: small and uneventful. Were it not for Sawako being there, poking fun and making jokes at nearly everything they walked by, Nanako would have returned back to Ryoko U by now. The girls spent hours doing what many would call "goofing around," but to them, it was much more than that.

When those two got together, they could turn the most mundane of subjects and converse about that one subject, such as "music in general", and pick the subject apart layer by layer until their conversation eventually reached the discussion of "the inevitability of music throughout the universe."

With nothing _else_ to do in this town (which Nanako insisted on quite often), the two students of Ryoko U, finding a secluded bench in an unused playground, spent hours merely talking, one subject of interest leading into another with seemingly no end in sight.

When it reached around 16:00, Sawako and Nanako both decided that it was about time to head back to the University. Much of the student body had probably already done the same by now. Removing themselves from the town, they began to head back to the Kuroi residence by walking down the same road they took earlier.

At one point during their silent walk back, Nanako decided to speak up. "Hey, Sawa-chan?"

"Yeah? What's up?"

"I, well… I sort of have a… confession to give."

Sawako felt her heart stop. Turning around to face her blonde haired friend, they stood before each other in the empty, snow blanketed sidewalk. "A… _confession_?" Sawako repeated.

"Yeah, I wanted to tell you something…"

"_Oh Jesus,_" Yamanaka thought to herself. "_If this is what I think it is… **Please** be what I think it is. For the love of God, I've waited too long for this to happen…_"

"You see," Nanako continued, "I wanted to tell you earlier, but with my parents being _right there_, it would have been embarrassing…"

From the distance they stood from each other, Nanako couldn't see the incredible blush that had formed on Sawako's face. "_Nanako, you damn fool, just say it. **Say** it, Nanako. Say those three words that hang from the tips of your lips…_"

"S-Sawa-chan…?"

"_I. Love. You… Please, say it…_"

"You see, I actually… I _did_ know what that game you gave me was."

…

"… What?" Sawako whispered.

"I know, it's embarrassing to admit, but the truth is that I only_ acted_ as if I'd never heard of 'Metal Gear Solid' before. You see, I did that because-"

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!

A tri-stack of bumps, one atop another, shot up from the crown of Nanako's head, courtesy of Sawako's fist. "W- WHAT THE FUCK, NANAKO!" she screamed at the top of her lungs in ultimate frustration. "Who the hell do you think you are? Working me up like that just to crush my heart into a thousand pieces! Have you no soul?"

"Ouch," moaned Nanako as she rubbed her newly formed bruises. "Sawa-chan, what do you mean?"

"Are you _that_ dense! You can't just say all that stuff and not expect people to get worked up over it. This whole time, I seriously thought that you were going to say-"

"… Say _what_, Sawa-chan?" an oblivious Nanako asked.

_I. Love. You._

"N- Nevermind!" Sawako replied. "Wait, what were _you_ talking about all this time?"

"That game you got me: Metal Gear Solid. I acted like I didn't know what it was, but the truth is that I _do_ know what that game is."

"… That's what you wanted to say?... What's the point in lying about that?" Yamanaka interrogated.

"Sawa-chan, I know that game was _really_ expensive. You don't need to feel that you need to spend a lot of money on me. I would have been happy with _any_ game from you."

"So what? I can't splurge money on my friends?"

"Well… It's just that your gift made my gift feel insignificant in comparison. You went out of your way to buy that expensive game for me while _I_… I got your gift from a bargain bin for only one hundred yen!"

Sawako unintentionally flinched at the mention of the price, whispering aloud "Wow, _that_ low?"

"You see!" said Nanako, who was now beginning to cry. "I'm such a crappy friend that I didn't take the time to put thought in a gift. Instead I practically just grabbed the first thing I sa-"

In Nanako's tearful words, she had not noticed Sawako close the gap between them. Before she could even react, Nanako suddenly found her friend's arms wrapped around her shoulders and felt herself being held against Sawako's chest.

"Jesus, do you _always_ cry this much?" Sawako asked in a soft voice.

"S-Sawa-chan?" asked Kuori, "what are you-?"

"Don't worry about finding me a better present, stupid. I love the present you _already_ gave me. Don't think that you have to out-do me or anything."

Kuroi was now too stricken with emotions to speak a word, being held Sawako's arms. "_She's… She's warm,_" Nanako thought to herself. "_Not only is Sawa-chan extremely generous, she's very modest as well… Wow, she's so warm…_"

Kuroi's thoughts were broken when Sawako finally lifted her arms from her friend. "Better?" she asked.

"… Y-Yeah," she whispered back.

"Let's head back home, to _our_ home, Kuro-chan. We'll grab our things, you can say good-bye to Mom and Dad, then we'll head back. Sound good?"

"… Sounds good," Nanako replied with a nod and smile.

-o0o-

Returning through the front door of the Kuroi residence, Hina and Takumi shot up from their seats at the kitchen table and rushed to the door. Both were relieved to see their daughter and friend had return safely after being out for so long.

"Where have you two been?" Hina asked worriedly. "You two have been gone for _hours_!"

"It's ok, Mom," assured Nanako. "We were just hanging out around town the whole time."

"For _six_ hours?" Takumi interrogated.

"Guess so," she replied nonchalantly as they removed their snow covered shoes. "Mom, Dad, sorry to bring this us so suddenly, but Sawa-chan and I kind of want to head back, if that's ok with you. I mean, we can stay another night if you-"

"Oh, no, that's quite alright," answered Takumi. "We know that compared to a university filled with peers, this town may seem quite boring to you in comparison. We don't want to be a burden by forcing you to stay. Really, you can leave now if you wish."

"Are you sure?" asked Nanako.

Hina gave a nod in response. "It was great seeing you again, Nanako, and hearing about everything from the university. It was also wonderful finally meeting _you_, Yamanaka-san. Your visit has been… well, eye-opening."

"_Oh crap_," Nanako thought.

"Well, if you say it's ok…" continued Nanako, "I guess we'll get our things and head off. Let's go, Sawa-chan." The two quickly headed upstairs and gathered their stuff and headed back down. However, before leaving, Nanako had to give her final good-byes. Giving both her mother and father a hug, she promised that she would continue to keep her promise of calling them every week. With Sawako giving her good-byes as well, the girls put their shoes back on and left through the front door together.

-o0o-

The girls arrived back at Ryoko University at a late hour. Due to the snow, Sawako was forced to take many detours that increased the length of their return journey. Finally returning to 414, it felt for both woman that weights had been lifted from their shoulders. Tossing their day bags into their respective rooms, Sawako went straight for the fridge and retrieved a pair of beers, throwing one to Nanako.

"A toast," Sawako proclaimed, "to a successful Christmas!"

"Yeah!" Nanako said back, knocking the two cans together like they were bottles. Down each in a single go (much to Sawako's surprise, given Nanako's previous experience with alcohol) Kuroi added something to her friend's proclamation.

"_Although_," Nanako added, "I _still_ could have given you a better present."

"UGH! You're still going on about that shit? Look, I told you to forget about that." She paused, adding a playful look to her face. "However, if you _still_ wanna give me something… my _birthday_ is coming up soon."

"It is?" Nanako said with a gasp. "When!"

"January 31st. If you still feel like it, you can get me something _then_."

"You got it, Sawa-chaw!"

Sawako looked into her's friends excited face. "_Damn it, Kouri, I **really** thought that today was going to be the day…_"

* * *

**Author's Notes: **... Wait, I'm finally speaking in this story? ABOUT TIME!

Figures that the Christmas chapter would be the longest one yet I mean granted alot happened, but whatever.

Ok everyone, _I_ have something to confess... Metal Gear Solid _actually_ came out in 1998. But I figured that 1998 is like five days away in the story anyway, I made a little lie. So, now that's **two** epic games that Kuroi owns? Not bad...

I got the collar idea from one of Zokusho's fanfics. In it, Patricia has Hiyori in a collar and leash. Really socially awkward, but funny as hell to read.

So, not much more to go. Stay tuned...


	5. Daiwa

Chapter 5

In a phone booth just outside the campus of Ryoko University, a certain young blonde was making a rather important phone call.

"Yes, I'd like to make a reservation," Nanako said into the phone. "…For tomorrow… 19:00… Name? How about…" She took a moment to think of something clever. "Mononoke… Yes, smoking section, please… For two… Ok, thank you very much."

The instant she placed the phone back onto its receiver, the _other_ in that intended table for two spoke. "So, what's the place, _Mononoke_?"

Nanako jumped so high from fright that she nearly hit her head on the ceiling of the booth. Stepping outside, she approached her friend, Sawako, who stood awaiting an answer. On this night, in place of her usual leather jacket, Sawako opted for a long, black trench coat.

"… Nothing," Nanako told Sawako.

"Yeah, bull_shit_ nothing. Let me guess… It's for my birthday, isn't it?

Thankfully, sweat formed on the _back_ of Nanako's neck. "N-No?" she replied. "What makes you say that?"

"Oh, I don't know, just a wild guess, but maybe because it's **_tomorrow_**?"

… So?" she then asked, admitting her loosing of the conversation.

"… Ok, fine, I'll forget I even saw this… Oh, Nanako!" she said with fake enthusiasm, "what are _you_ doing out here at this late hour?"

It took Kuroi a second to comprehend her friend's sarcasm. "Oh, nothing," she casually replied. "I was just heading back to our room."

"Then let's head back, shall we?"

With both giving a laugh, the Ryoko U students headed back to their dorm together. "_This is going perfectly," _Kuroi thought to herself. "_I got the reservation and I've managed to save enough money to spend for Sawa-chan's birthday. Tomorrow is going to be perfect._

_ Perfect_."

-o0o-

When 16:00 rolled around the next day and the most Nanako ever gave Sawako at this point was a "Happy Birthday" greeting and a "Happy Birthday" hug, Yamanaka was beginning to suspect that what she heard her blonde friend talk into the phone about was _truly _for her or not. Watching her play her new Christmas gift for the _fifth _consecutive hour in a row, Sawako was even beginning to doubt that Nanako was _capable_ of such forethought.

Nanako had been playing Sawako's gift ever since she got it (and stumbling through it rather badly.) Hearing from across the room the all too familiar "GAME OVER" sound of "Snake? Snake! SNAAAAAKE!", Sawako mused aloud to herself "Maybe I should have bought a strategy guide to go with it…"

Nanako suddenly turned around and poked her head over the headrest of the couch. "NO!" she pleaded. "Strategy guides are for the weak, for those who have given up on beating the game on their own will! I will not fall down that path!"

"But you've been trying to beat the boss battle with Sniper Wolf for _days_ now and you're no closer to beating it _now_ than you were before. You know, the internet probably has some guides for it-"

"That would be cheating the whole experience! You have to figure it out all on your own if you _truly_ wish to claim that you beat the game!" And with the glorious declaration, Nanako plunged herself back into the game… in which she was killed a few minutes later.

Throwing a can of beer into Nanako's lap, Sawako decided _for_ her friend that it was time to take a break. Turning the Playstation off for what seemed the first time in a _month_, Sawako plopped next to her friend on the couch and the two began flipping through the channels. It wasn't long before interrogation sprung up.

"So, Kuro-chan," Yamanaka began, "where _will_ you be taking me to dinner tonight?"

"… Wait, I thought you said you'd forget that you saw me at the phone booth last night?" Nanako defended.

"I had an epiphany."

"… I don't think that's what 'epiphany' means, Sawa-chan."

"Well who cares! Just freakin tell me!"

"But I _caaaaaan't_! It wouldn't be a _surprise_ then!"

"Well you already failed at keeping the dinner _itself_ a surprise, why bother with the location?"

"Because," she replied, "I wanna see the look on your face when we get there."

Though Sawako did good to hide it, that last part intrigued her. "_Maybe she **is** planning something big_," she thought to herself. "_It **would** be a first for her, puting so much thought into one thing. Maybe she's still trying to make up for her Christmas gift._"

"Ok, Otakuroi, whatever you say. I _suppose_ I can wait another three hours… God damn it, tell me!"

"Oh, shut up!"

-o0o-

When it finally came time to head out, only a few minutes later, Sawako seemed more than excited to do so. Hoping into her car, Nanako once again gave directions. Judging from how early they left campus, Sawako assumed that the place was far off. Indeed it was. The only practical means of reaching their intended location (if Kuroi's directions were correct) was to get on a nearby freeway and follow that for a full two hours, eventually taking an off ramp to, much to Sawako's furthering surprise, an actual _city_.

"Ok," said Nanako aloud as the Mustang went through stop-and-go traffic on a small side street, "I think we're getting pretty close." The lights of the neon signs that seemed to line the buildings told without a doubt that they had entered some sort of downtown district.

"What do you mean you _think_?" asked Sawako, a cigarette between her lips. "You _do_ know where this place is, right?"

"Sure I do!... But I've never been there in person, so I might have trouble finding it."

"Ugh… Well can you tell me the name of the place _now_ so we _both_ can look for it?"

Voicing a relenting sigh, Nanako finally admitted the name. "It's called 'Daiwa Sushi.' If the name's not clear enough, it's a sushi restaurant. I read somewhere that it received good ratings and-"

"It's right over there," finished Sawako, pointing her burning cigarette to a building on the left side of the street. Indeed it was Daiwa Sushi, but the long, roped off lines outside the front door shot a worried look into Nanako. There were two lines: one that seemed to approach the front door and another that approached an open window, where people could get their food right from the sidewalk. "Aw, damn it," Kuroi exclaimed. "That doesn't look good. Good thing I made a reservation thought, right?" Sawako nodded in response.

Parking a few blocks away, the Ryoko U students casually walked past the line of people (much to their personal irk) and approached the front door. There, a man, situated behind a sort of podium, greeted them with a "The line starts over _there_," he said, pointing to the end of the line in the distant right.

"Uh, we have a reservation," explained Nanako.

"Oh, yes, of course," he said as he retrieved a clipboard from within the podium itself. "Name?"

"Mononoke," Nanako replied without hesitation, receiving a joking roll of Sawako's eyes.

"Hmm… Sorry, your name doesn't seem to be here."

…

"… Can you check again?" Kuroi asked.

The man checked once more, only to say to the girls "The name's still not there."

"… But I called and made the reservation _yesterday_."

"That doesn't change the fact that 'Mononoke' isn't on the list. Sorry, mame, but just have to wait in line like the others."

Standing behind her, Sawako watched as her friend seemed to turn to stone, into an unmovable object. "Uh, Kuroi? You ok?" She was about to reach out and touch her shoulder (if not to confirm that she was still alive), but when her fingers came within an inch of her, Nanako whipped around, revealing a face whose cheeks were lined with vertical trails of tears. Whimpering softly, Nanako merely fell forward into Sawako's shoulder.

"Sorry, Sawa-chan," Kuroi's muffled voice said into Yamanaka's shoulder. "I guess I fucked up _again_."

Sawako wanted to wrap her arms around her friend to comfort her, but instead, her gaze returned to the man with the reservation list. With her blood reaching a boil, Sawako lifted Nanako from her shoulder, gently moved her aside, and marched straight to the podium.

Putting on a fake smile, she leaned an elbow onto the podium, leaned in, and, before the man could object, she whispered something into his ear. Though he looked to listen intently at first, a few seconds of Sawako's whispers made his forehead instantly drip with nervous sweat. Finally lifting her lips from his ear, the man immediately retrieved two menus from within the podium and politely asked the two Royko U students to "Follow me, please."

"_… Did that really just happen_?" Nanako asked herself. As she followed her friend, who followed the person to their seat, she leaned in slightly and asked Sawako "Hey, isn't that _my_ trick."

Giving a quick glance back, she replied with a grin "One learns from their master."

"_Well, it's not exactly going as planned,_" Kuroi said to herself. "_At least were** inside** the restaurant. I suppose it could have been worse…_"

-o0o-

Taking seats opposite each other at a booth in the smoking section, a waiter approached immediately and asked if the two students wanted anything to drink. Without hesitation or even an agreement from Nanako, Sawako gave her order. "A bottle of sake, something _good_," she said. With a nod, the man left to get their order.

Yamanaka took advantage of the section they were in by lighting a cigarette. After doing so, she made a quick glance around at the busy restaurant. "Not bad," she commented aloud. "No 'Iron Maiden,' but not bad."

"Don't sound so enthusiastic, Sawa-chan," Nanako said sardonically.

"What, I being honest. I mean this place is nice, _really_ nice, but 'Iron Maiden' has a certain _charm_ to it that I wouldn't trade for the world."

Nanako gave a discreet roll of her eyes at the word "charm," wondering what Sawako would view as charming. Her thoughts were soon cut short with the arrival of the sake, served at room temperature in a clear, green glass bottle. Placing it in the center of the table, the waiter then placed a small choko in front of each of them. Leaving them with an "Enjoy", Sawako wasted no time in unscrewing the cap and pouring for herself and Nanako.

Holding up the choko in preparation for a toast, Sawako began. "To reaching the big two-zero!" she declared.

With a nod, they brought their cups together with a clank and downed the contents in a single gulp. The chokos were filled immediately after, but this time, the two took their time and sipped.

After a few minutes of silence and watching Sawako lighting another cigarette, Nanako worked up the courage to ask a rather bold question.

"… Can _I_ have one?" she asked cautiously.

Raising an eyebrow, it took her a few seconds before she figured out what her friend referred to was what was placed between her lips. "You want one of _these_?" she asked, pointing to the cigarette.

Kuroi gave a shrug of her shoulders in response, commenting that "It's already a celebration, so why not?"

Yamanaka's voice suddenly turned to a mock. "Aww, but I don't wanna hurt little Kuroi's voice."

"Hey, if anything, it's your voice _I_ should be worried about, given you're lead vocal."

"… Touche… Here," she said, hold the already lit cigarette across the table. "Try this one first. I'm not wasting one if you can't handle it."

"But… you already used this one."

"Don't worry, the only disease I got are 'cooties,' but we woman are all born with that, aren't we?"

Giving a quick grin at her joke, Nanako took the cigarette from Sawako's fingers. Taking one more cautious look at it, she placed it between her lips and inhaled…

Only to find herself choking for breath an instant later and her friend bursting into tremendous laughter.

"*cough cough* Shut up! *cough*" Nanako protested.

It took Sawako a few seconds before she could force herself to stop laughing. "I'm sorry, Kuro-chan," she said, still chuckling, "you're just so cute when you're trying to act cool."

"Hey! Are you saying I'm not cool?" Kuroi asked with a joking pout.

"No," Sawako deadpanned in response. "Not one bit."

When it looked as if her friend was about to cry _again_, Yamanaka once more laughed at the antics of her friend. "I'm just screwing with you. Don't worry, you're cool…I guess."

The girls sat in relative silence, slowly sipping their sake and awaiting the return of their waiter. Judging from both the lines out front, they gave the restaurant the benefit of the doubt on being somewhat late. So they sat and waited… and waited… and waited.

When _thirty_ minutes had passed and Sawako had finished her third cigarette, she finally spoke up. "Does it usually take this _long_?" she asked in an agitated manner.

"Maybe they're _really_ busy?" Nanako replied.

"But I swear I've watched three other tables sit down, eat their shit, then leave. I think they're fucking ignoring us."

"Well, let's just wait a _bit_ more, then we'll try to get a waiter's attention."

And so they waited further… When _forty five_ minutes passed, Sawako decided that enough was enough. Slamming her _seventh_ cigarette into the ashtray, as a waitress went by, she held up her hand to catch her attention.

"Hey, miss!" she called out, her voice clearly showing irritation. When she approached, Sawako resumed. "The waiter we had is not doing a good job. We've been here for almost an hour and he hasn't even come back to ask what we wanted to eat!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry about this," the girl replied with honest sympathy in her voice. "If you want, _I_ can take your order."

"… Ok, sure." Picking up her menu and giving it one last glance over, Yamanaka stated "The Emperor platter," she ordered, pointing to a rather large sushi platter on the menu, "And…" She took a quick glance to the bottle of sake to see that there lingered only an inch of liquid left inside "And another bottle of this, please."

Giving a smile and bow, the waitress walked off. Turning her gaze back to her friend, a worried look hung on Nanako's face. "What?" asked Sawako.

"You _are_ planning on driving back home, are you? Maybe we should go easy on the booze?"

"Eh, I'll be fine," she replied dismissively, only instigating more worried looks from Kuroi.

Their waitress returned a few moments later with their sake and assured them that their other order would come shortly. However, that wasn't so. They waited for at least thirty more minutes. With Sawako's increasing aggravation, she failed to see how her friend was reacting to this. Sawako failed to notice that Nanako was drinking their sake with increased gusto in an attempt to drown out her growing sorrow.

When another full forty five minutes passed, Sawako Yamanaka _finally_ had enough. Slamming her _eleventh_ cigarette into the ashtray, she began to growl her words through her teeth. "That's it," she said. "That. Is. _IT_! I'm not waiting around another fucking second in this fucking restaurant! Kuroi, we're leaving right n-"

Only then did she pay any attention to the drunken state her friend had entered. Her green eyes looked almost glassed over and seemed to look off into a distant nothingness. "… Nanako? You alright?"

The only response she received was a blank stare from Nanako.

"Ok, let's get out of here," Yamanaka demanded as she rose from her seat, discreetly snatched the sake bottle, grabbed Nanako by a wrist, and led her toward the door.

"Wait," Nanako droned from drunkenness. "The bill."

"Fuck the bill," Sawako shot back, pulling her friend out the door and down the sidewalk to their car. "Hurry up, Kuroi, before we get caught."

Thankfully for them, they reached Sawako's car and drove off without incident. Their ride back, even with the radio on, seemed quite silent. With Nanako in the state she was in, she looked in no condition to make conversation. She instead seemed more interested in watching the passing cars on the freeway.

With her face averted to her friend, Sawako could not see the tears that rolled down Nanako's cheeks.

-o0o-

The two students returned to campus at quite a late hour, around a time past midnight (the return journey, due to traffic, took longer than expected.) After their long drive back, Nanako seemed to sober up. They were forced to walk quietly through the hallways of their dorm as not to wake the others. Entering their dorm, Sawako went to the fridge and put inside it her pilfered bottle of sake.

"Well, that was sort of a bust," Yamanaka said light-heartedly, "but I _did_ have fu-"

Sawako watched as her friend, with almost robotic movements, walked over to the television and turned it on, sat down on the couch with game controller in hand, and turned on the Playstation. It was not as if Sawako never witnessed this before, but today, she was acting different, as if she were merely going through an inescapable routine. That routine, however, was suddenly broken when the controller fell to the ground with a loud clatter.

Sawako walked over to the couch, asking "Kuro-chan, what's wro-" Her words were cut short when she saw the tears that adorned Nanako's face, her welled-up eyes looking vacantly into the screen. "What the- What's wrong, Kuro-chan?"

Nanako lowered her eyes to the floor. "… I guess tonight was a _complete_ failure," she whispered aloud.

"N-No, it wasn't," Yamanaka pleaded. "So what if the service sucked. We got to have a few free drinks on my birthday. Hell, that's good enough for me."

"… But I failed to show you… What I was willing to give for _you_…"

Sawako chose to remain silent after what Nanako just said. "_Give? For me?_" she thought to herself.

"You went out of your way," Kuroi continued to whisper, "to buy me my Christmas present. You did so much just for _me_. I wanted to do the same for you. I would have bought you the most expensive thing on the menu had you ordered it… It would have been worth it…"

Sawako seemed at an almost loss for words. "… I-I told you, you don't need to spend a lot of money on m-"

"But I _want_ to!" Kuroi suddenly blurted out. "I _want_ to go out of my way, just like you did, to make you happy… because…

Because I love you, Sawa-chan!" Kuroi finally admitted. "I want to _show_ you how much I love you."

Sawako brought a hand over her mouth as her face blushed a light pink. "_You did it_," she thought to herself. "_Nanako, you finally did it!_"

"… I'm sorry if you don't feel the same way," Kuroi continued, unaware that her friend had walked over and sat next to her on the couch, "but I needed to say it. I just-"

"Nanako," whispered Sawako.

Lifting her head and turning to her right, she was about to ask "What is it?" but before she could utter "Wh-", she was cut short by the feeling of Sawako's lips pressed against hers. That very moment seemed to hang in eternity for the green-eyed blonde, a flutter of emotions flowing through her body. In the same motion Sawako used to bring her lips to Kuroi's, she glided her fingertips across Nanako's waist and around her, then pulling Nanako against herself.

Leaning forward, Kuroi suddenly found herself beneath her friend, her warm body resting atop her. With Nanako suddenly thrust her tongue into her mouth, she froze in confusion, not sure what to do next. Then, the answer came clearly…

She accepted Sawako's tongue by introducing her own into Sawako's mouth. With them now massaging each other, Kuroi reached her arms up and wrapped the around Sawako's shoulders and held her tighter to herself.

Lying atop the length of the couch, the two held each other in loving embrace, their mouths locked in a seemingly unbreakable bond. After five minutes, the twos' lips finally broke. They then looked into each other's eyes, both sporting strong blushes on their faces. Kuroi wondered to herself what to do or say next. Subconsciously, Nanako whispered a faint "Wow…"

Sawako smiled. "Don't worry," she whispered to Nanako, "I accept your admission."

"… So… What now?"

Removing her arms from around Kuroi, Sawako grabbed her friend by both wrists and whispered for her to "Follow me."

Lifting her from the couch, Sawako led Kuroi across the room and , much to the blonde's surprise, into _Sawako's_ room…

* * *

**Author's Notes:** About time, right? The two have finally shown their true feelings! However, don't think this is the end (that would be a crappy ending anyway.) The last chapter is next and I assure you it's not to be missed.

Also, Daiwa Sushi _is _a real place, a popular restaurant for both Japanese natives and tourists alike. I looked up the place and found mixed reviews of the place, so I'm not sure what to make of it. However, don't let their crappy service in this story alter your opinion. (Any employees reading this, please don't kill me.)


	6. Consummation

Chapter 6

Nanako found the interior of Sawako's room to be both surprising and _un_surprising at the same time. Every square inch of the walls were covered in band posters. Kuroi was hard pressed to figure out the room's true wall color.

Of course, Nanako had not the time to look around, for when she was brought into Sawako's room and the door was locked, Kuroi was literally thrown onto the bed and she soon found herself in the same position she was previously in: beneath Sawako.

The two picked up where they last were on the couch: their lips pressed together and their tongues massaging. They continued this for what seemed to both of them a blissful eternity, only breaking lip contact to either get air or lean in lower to nip at each other's necks.

After one final kiss, their lips lifted from each others' and they once more looked into each other's eyes, seeing for the first time what they had previously hid: love. Lifting herself off of Kuroi and now sitting upright on the bed, she looked down at her blushing friend and told her "Take it off."

"… Take _what_ off?" Nanako asked, still lying on her back.

"The shirt. Take it off."

Kuroi's blush intensified, but slowly, she reached for her waist and tentatively lifted her shirt over her head, revealing the rather _plain_ bra beneath. "And _that_," Sawako quickly added, pointing to her underwear.

This time, Kuroi shook her head, now crossing her arms across her chest in an attempt to cover her breasts from sight. "Please?" asked Sawako, still receiving a shake of her friend's head. "Fine, then _I'll_ take off mine _first_."

Slipping the jacket from off her shoulders, followed shortly after by her black t-shirt, Sawako reached behind her back and undid the strap of her bra. Pausing for personal effect, she then removed it from herself and flung it to the floor, leaving her single person audience to gaze at her chest.

"They're bigger than mine," Nanako commented aloud absentmindedly.

"Ok, _I've_ done it," said Sawako, "now it's _your_ turn."

Actually feeling somewhat more comfortable, Nanako removed her bra and dropped it over the edge of her bed. Sawako then leaned forward a bit and grabbed Nanako by her shoulders. Propping her upright, she continued to bring her forward until her face was placed directly in the cleavage of Sawako's breasts.

Kuroi sat still for a moment, unsure how to act next. Finally think of something, she stuck her tongue out and began to lick the cleavage, slowly working across the right breast until reaching the areola. Upon tonguing it, Sawako gave a slight pleasured wince.

After a few minutes of that, Nanako leaned back and fell back down onto the bed, now expecting Sawako to do the same to her. However, she had something _else_ planned. Bending down forward, it looked as if Sawako was to do to Kuroi what she did to her. However, when she _then _began to scoot herself backwards, Nanako then wondered what she was going to do next.

Suddenly, Sawako began to take off Nanako's shoes and socks. At first, her intention for doing so was lost to Kuroi. Then, when Yamanaka did a quick scoot forward and reached for the button of Nanako's jeans, her intentions were crystal clear.

"W-Wait, Sawa-chan, wait!" Nanako pleaded after her friend popped the button to her jeans. "What are you doing!."

"Opening my birthday present… Don't worry, I'll go easy on you," Sawako assured her friend as she undid the zipper. Then, in one fluid movement, she lowered off her body both pants and underwear, revealing Nanako's virgin pussy (adorned with a small, neatly trimmed patch of blonde hair.)

Sawako raised a curious eyebrow at this new sight. "Hmm, you surprise me, Kuroi," she said. "I was fully expecting a _jungle_."

Stricken with embarrassment, Kuroi averted her red face from Sawako, exclaiming a "Shut up!" When she looked back, she found Sawako's lips hovering an inch above her "danger zone" (what her mother called it when Nanako was a child.)

"S-Sawa-chan, please wa-"

Too late. Sawako lowered herself in between Kuroi's thighs and began her work. With a loud gasp, Nanako throw her eyes to the ceiling and remained still as her friend continued. Not a few moments later, Kuroi's phone rang with the polyphonic "Victory Fanfare" of Final Fantasy VII.

Sawako lifter herself from Nanako to give a small laugh. "See, even your phone knows you've just scored," she commented. "…Go ahead, answer it. I'll wait until you're done."

Kuroi stumbled through her jean pockets to get her phone. Bringing it to her ear, she gave an unintendedly breathy "Hello?... MOM!"

"_Hello, honey_." answered Hina on the other end of the line. "_Did you forget that today was the day of your weekly call_?"

"O- Oh, sorry about that, I was just… busy."

"_Well, that's fine. I know you're probably busy with school work and all that. So, how are things going_?"

"Oh, fine. Everything's f- AHH!" In that moment, Sawako broke her word and had began resuming her work on Nanako's pussy.

"_What was that?_" asked Hina. "_Is everything alright over there_?"

"Y-Yeah," Nanako answered with a shaky voice, "everything's good- Oh, that's good- Yeah, everything's fine here."

"_… Ok… Well, your father and I just wanted to check up, see if you were doing well in school still. How are your grades?_"

"F-Fine," Nanako quickly replied, "just fine… Uh, Mom, can we talk _tomorrow_? I'm kind of- Oh, Jesus- kind of hung up at the moment."

"… _Ok_," Hina replied cautiously. "_I guess I can call tomorrow. Talk to you later, honey. Tell Yamanaka-san I said 'Hello,' ok?_"

"Oksurebye," Nanako quickly finished before hanging up her phone and dropping onto her pile of clothes that sat next to the bed. She wanted to be angry at her friend, but soon found that impossible. With a new feeling fluttering over herself, Nanako Threw her head against the pillow, belting out a euphoric "Oh my God!"

Reaching that climax, Sawako lifted herself from Nanako and, bring a hand to her lips, whipped a small amount of clear liquid from her chin. Srticken once more with embarrassment, Nanako averted her now beet-red face. "S-Sorry," she whispered.

"Don't be," replied Sawako, who crawled herself atop Kuroi once more. "That was actually fun." Lowering herself on top of Nanako, she began kissing the length of her neck before suddenly grabbing her by the shoulders and flipping their positions. Kuroi now found herself on _top_ of Sawako.

"Your turn," Sawako stated, glancing her eyes downward.

Understanding instantly what she implied, Nanako scooted backward on the bed and, with great nervousness in her movements, she undid Sawako's jeans and slowly slid them off her body, revealing that she was without underwear (and her perfectly shaven pussy.)

With her face now turn a shade of red she would have never thought possible, she looked back into Sawako's eyes. ".. Y- You want me to?" she asked faintly.

Her friend grinned. "Remember back during that storm," Yamanaka asked. "Remember I said that I was saving myself for someone special?

… That was _you_, Nanako."

Whispering one last "I love you" to Sawako, Nanako lowered her lips in-between Sawako's thighs.

-o0o-

In the adjacent room of 413, aspiring police-woman Yui Kobayakawa (a woman with short, emerald hair and amber eyes, who would later go by the surname of Narumi), who could not get herself to sleep that night, decided to spend a few minutes in the main room of her dorm reading a light novel. As she read, she could not help but overhear noises coming from the wall behind the chair she sat in. At first, she dismissed them as merely mice in the walls. However, when, there came a loud, almost human yelp, she quickly bookmarked her novel and turned to look at the wall in wonder.

"_What in the world is going on_?" she thought to herself. Rising from her chair, she leaned in and placed her ear to the wall itself. She could now hear the sounds much clear… and immediately, she began to blush. However, before she was going to make conclusions, she needed a second opinion.

Looking across the room, she saw that a glow of light peaked from beneath the door of her roommate's room. She quietly walked to said door and lightly knocked on it a few times. A few seconds later, the door opened and Yui's roommate, Yukari Tanizaki (a woman with brown eyes and long, wavy brown hair) appeared on the other side.

"Yeah?" she asked sleepishly. "What's up, Yui?"

"Uh… I think something's going on in the next room, room 414," Yui said cautiously.

"Like what?"

"Um… Maybe you should listen for yourself."

With a groan, Yukari walked to the wall Yui pointed to and placed her ear to it. After a few seconds of listening, a shocked look shot to her face, followed shortly after by an almost devilish grin.

"Well _well_," commented Yukari aloud, lifter her ear from the wall and turning to Yui, "it sounds like our neighbors are bumping clits."

"W-WHAT?" Yui blurted. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," Yukari replied. "Looks like the rumors of this school _are_ true: full of lesbians."

Yui took one last look at the wall, the wall where sounds still continued to pour through. "I guess… I just hope I don't have to endure this for _too_ long."

She was forced to endure for two hours.

-o0o-

Reaching what seemed to be their eighteenth simultaneous climax, the two girls were finally drained of nearly all energy. Separating their sweating bodies apart, the pair fell backwards onto the bed spread, their heads resting atop the pillows. Though they did not speak, their heavy breathing spoke more than words could.

As Sawako caught her breath, she felt a hot arms\ reach across her stomach and wrap around her body. She looked to her left to see Kuroi resting her head contently on Sawako's left shoulder, a cat-like grin permanently plastered to her face.

"Rather clingy, aren't you?" Sawako asked her lover.

"Only with you," she replied back, tightening her hold on Yamanaka. "Come on, cuddle with me."

"… I think not."

"Pleeeeeease?" Kuroi cutely pleaded.

"… Fine," she relented with a smile as she rolled onto her left side and wrapped her arms around Nanako's waist, bring herself closer until they were once more pressed against each other.

"So," said Kuroi, "have I made up for my Christmas present yet?"

"… That and more," Sawako replied as she leaned in to kiss Nanako on her lips. "So, when do you plan on breaking this to your parents, Kuro-chan?"

"… Not for a while. They don't need to know _just_ yet. Maybe sometime during the summer-." Kuroi lingered on the last word. "… What will we do next year, Sawa-chan? It's unlikely we'll have the same room. We might not see each other at all."

Nanako's worries were interrupted by Sawako bringing her face in closer until the very tips of their noses touched. "Don't worry about that just yet," she told Kuroi. "Let's just enjoy _this_, what we have right now."

"… I love you, Sawa-chan."

"… I know."

-o0o-

Even though they pushed the thought of this day into the back of their mind, they knew this day would inevitably come.

It was the last day of finals. At this hour in the evening, many had already completed their finals and were now saying their last good-byes to friends before they left for the summer. In front of their dorm, in the center of a vast crowd of fellow Ryoko University students, Nanako Kuroi and Sawako Yamanaka stood a short distance across from each other. At both their feet was their entire luggage.

They stood silently, looking into each other's eyes, waiting for the other to speak. Eventually it fell upon Nanako to utter their first words.

"… Where will you go for the summer?" she asked Sawako.

"Eh, I'll stay with a friend that lives not that far away. Get a part time job and earn some money before coming back next year."

"Yeah… I'll try to get a job back home… I'll call you every day, Sawa-chan. I promise."

"Counting on it…"

They both took a step forward, the gap between them now not an inch or so apart. It was not long before their hands crept along and around each other's waists and into a full embrace, made complete with the joining of their lips. The couple received many looks from the students around them: some of shock, some of anger, and _others_ of admiration. But to Sawako and Nanako, such looks didn't exist.

To them, in that moment, whenever they hugged or kissed or shared a bed, there only existed each other in their world.

-o0o-

That summer, Nanako Kuroi returned to her hometown. It was during her summer break she got a part-time job at a small deli in the town. It was _also_ in the summer that Nanako finally admitted to her parents that she and Sawako had become lovers. Nanako fully expected her parents to become upset or angry at her, but was thrilled when they accepted her relationship. Apparently, after witnessing how close she and Sawako were at Christmas, they prepared themselves were she to come out of the closet.

After gaining her parent's acceptance, Nanako couldn't have been happier.

However, such happiness was short lived. True to her promise, she called Sawako everyday… only to receive no answer every single time. With everyday that Sawako did not pick up, Kuroi began to believe that their relationship had been nothing but a lie.

It was a long, lonely summer.

They only thing she dreaded was returning to Ryoko University.

-o0o-

Nanako found herself in a familiar spot: outside the same dormitory she spent last year in. She looked around her and saw all the new faces to the university. Reaching into her pocket, she retrieved the piece of paper that told what number room she would spend her sophomore year in.

It was as if God was mocking her: it was 414.

Walking up those familiar steps, bags hung over her shoulders, she dreaded the sight of looking down that hallway, at that far off door of 414. Knowing no other choice was hers to have, she slowly walked the hallway to its end. She was just wishing that heavy metal would be blasting from the other side, but when she approached the door, she heard not a sound.

"_Well, I suppose we all have to move on eventually_," Nanako told herself, "_… but I'll still miss her…_"

Working the courage to reach for the doorknob, she was surprised to find that the door was already open. Stepping inside, a bright light shown through the windows above the cabinets and counters, nearly blinding Kuroi. Shutting the door behind her, her roommate's voice sounded from where the table was.

"I saved you the trouble of calling me a bitch this time," she said, "and left the door unlocked for you."

_Thank you, God_.

Dropping her bags at her feet, she ran across the room and flung herself into Sawako's awaiting arms, burying her now tearing eyes into her shoulder.

"Sawa-chan!" she exclaimed with immense joy. "I can't believe it's you!"

"… Nice to see you too, Otakuroi," said Yamanaka.

"I haven't heard from you all summer. I call you every day, like I said I would, but you never answered."

"Sorry about that. Literally the day you left, I broke my mobile and was forced to buy a new one. I couldn't keep my old number. I felt terrible knowing that you were probably calling and not getting an answer. Sorry, Kuro-chan."

Kuroi finally lifter her head from Sawako's shoulder and looked into her eyes. "That's all in the past," she said. "… Isn't this weird, how we both have the same room again?"

"… Actually," said Yamanaka, I _might_ have had a part in that… I _might_ have went to the Student Accommodations Office and _convinced_ them to place both of us in the same room."

"More like _threatened_."

"The difference being…?"

Nanako tightened her hold of Sawako's waist, her lover doing the same shortly after. "And if _I_ have anything to say about it," Yamanaka continued, "it'll stay like this until we graduate."

"But you're a year older than me," advised Nanako. "You'll graduate a year before me."

"Then I'll visit you whenever I can."

Looking into their eyes, they brought themselves closer and kissed. Once more, only _they_ existed in their world, just then two of them and their love, a love that lasted throughout their entire college years.

Eventually, time and adulthood slowly spilt them apart and, eventually, they stopped hearing from one another…

-o0o-

**_Eight Years Passed…_**

In an unprecedented act, Sakuragaoka Girls High School asked another local high school, Ryoo High, to join in a combined force to create a large sports festival at Ryoo High. A vote was made in each of the schools to see if the student body agreed to this. The result was a near unanimous "Yes."

On the day of said festival, both student bodies seemed to perform at their very peaks in their events. While there seemed to be an even split between the two schools in number of wins, one thing could not be overlooked: in class 2-B, lead by World History teacher Nanako Kuroi, a certain blue haired girl absolutely swept the running events, placing first in all by a huge margin.

Near the evening of the sports festival, a band from Sakuragaoka Girls High's light music club offered to perform for the students of Ryoo High, to which the faculty of Ryoo gladly accepted. Using their auditorium, the light music club's band, Houkago Tea Time, performed before a packed student body.

As they performed, the adviser to the light music club, Sawako Yamanaka, watched the band perform from behind the stage. When it came time for their last song, she decided to head outside to take one last walkthrough of the many concessions the students had created. As she walked along the edge of the auditorium, she made a quick glance at the crowd of Ryoo High students that attended…

Then, for some reason, her eyes stopped on a particular head of blonde hair that sat in a seat far from where she stood. For whatever reason, seeing that color hair reminded her of her roommate back when she was a college student. Squinting, she looked across the room at said head of blonde hair… to find that her thoughts of nostalgia were well placed.

She could not believe who sat there in the audience: there sat the very person Sawako had spent at least four years with during her days in college at Ryoko University. It was none other than Nanako Kuroi. Sawako nearly gasped at how little, and yet how so much, Nanako had changed over the years. She suddenly felt the urge to approach her but decided that stepping over a bunch of seated people would be rather disruptive.

Instead, she waited outside the auditorium doors, anxiously waiting the finale of the light music club's last song. After she heard the band's lead singer give her thanks to the crowd and with one final roar of applause from said crowd, students and teachers filed out the doors in droves.

Then, from the doorway, Nanako appeared. Raising a hand up, Sawako waved to her friend… only to watch as she walked straight past her without so much as a glance. "_Maybe she's forgotten what I look like_?" Yamanaka asked herself. "_Well, I'll admit, I look nothing like I once was…_"

Not giving up, Sawako followed closely behind her fried, making sure to keep within a few steps of her. After a few seconds, Sawako spoke up, greeting her friend with a "Hello, Kuro-chan!"

Nanako froze mid-step, knowing full well that she had not been called by that nickname since her days in college. Slowly turning around, she looked at the beautiful (if not rather plain looking) teacher that stood before her, holding a smile on her face.

"… Hello?" Kuroi replied with caution. "Can I help you with anything?"

"What, you don't recognize me?" Sawako said back.

Kuroi leaned her eyes forward a fraction of an inch (as if that would help) only to reply "… Sorry, not ringing any bells. Are you a teacher from Sakuragaoka Girls High?"

When Sawako gave a nod, Nanako shot an open hand forward. "Well nice to meet you anyways. I'm World History teacher in class 2-B. Nanako Kuroi."

Shaking her hand in return, Yamanaka introduced herself. "Adviser to the light music club… Sawako Yamanaka."

Kuroi handshake turned to stone, an unmoving object in Sawako's hand. Her smile slowly faded into an agape jaw. With her eyes widening as well, she forced herself to speak. "S- Sawa-chan?" she whispered. When she gave a nod in reply, she suddenly felt the crushing force of Kuroi's arms wrapping around her shoulders in a near fatal hug.

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed _rather_ loudly, "I can't believe it's you! It's been forever since we last saw each other!"

Sawako's voice was straining from having herself crushed. "Nice to… meet you too… Please…. let me go… you're crushing me."

Quickly releasing her grip, she looked once more at the person who stood before her. "You… You've _changed_."

Sawako smiled. "Well, I can't act wild while being a _teacher_, can I?" she defended.

"Don't tell me you've given up being wild all together!"

Widening her smile to an almost devilish grin, Sawako replied "Not a chance."

Before Nanako could question further, a familiar voice to Kuroi sounded from the crowd. "Yoohoo, Teach!" A few second later, a student of Kuroi's, the very same student that swept the competition in running events earlier that day, appeared, waving her hand high above her head: a rather short, blue haired girl by the name of Konata Izumi.

"Hey, Izumi, what's up!" said Nanako back. "Did you see the concert as well?"

"Oh yeah, they were awesome!" Konata said enthusiastically. "It was like something out of the OP of an anime-." At that moment, Izumi finally took notice to the person standing to the left of her teacher. "Who's this?"

"Oh, this is a teacher from the other school: Sawako Yamanaka. We actually went to college together."

"Whoa! College roommates! That's so cool!... Hey, where did you two go to school?"

In unison, the two teachers replied "Ryoko University."

Konata's eyes suddenly glimmered with interest. "Isn't that an all _girl's_ school?" she asked rather implying.

"Yeah, so?" defended Kuroi.

"Oh, nothing~" Izumi replied sing-songly before walking off back into the crowd. Once out of sight, Nanako held up a clenched fist, her teeth clenched as well. "I swear, if that little punk starts spreading rumors, she gonna get what's coming to her!"

"… Even though those rumors are true?" asked Sawako with a grin.

"_Especially _when those rumors are true!"

Yamanako chuckled lightly to herself, seeing how her friend truly had changed little over the years. "So, Nanako, what has happened to you lately. Some of the members of Death Devil have gone on and gotten married. Have _you_ married yet?"

"Nope," Nanako replied, "still single."

"… I guess we're still similar in _that_ respect… Hey, what are you doing after the sports festival is over?"

Nanako laughed. "Dang, Sawa-chan," she said, "I was starting to think you'd _never_ ask."

-o0o-

When the festivities of the day were over and the busses sent the students of Sakuragaoka Girls High back home, Sawako Yamanaka and Nanako Kuroi spent a quiet evening together at a local restaurant where the two spoke of nearly _everything_ that had happened the last years.

Their reunion then continued back to Nanako's apartment, where the two _continued_ to catch up on old times…

* * *

**Author's Notes:** It's over!

Seriously, I had a lot of fun writing this story. Were it not for the members of "Zokusho's Mostly Lucky Star Forum", I would have never made this. So, forum members, this story is as much yours as it is mine.

Honestly, that was most detail I've put into a "love scene" ever. It was a new experience and I'm hoping to hear from you readers how I did on it.

Side note: those two cameos, if you didn't know, were, more obviously, college-student aged Yui Narumi (cousin to Konata Izumi) and the other was Yukari Tanizaki (school teacher in Azumanga Daioh.)

Well, that's it. I hope you've enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.


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